The election of Donald Trump — whose campaign featured incendiary proposals on tariffs, immigration, and combating drug trafficking — is sending shock waves through Mexico, a nation with close economic, social, and cultural ties to its northern neighbor.
The president-elect’s vows to impose steep taxes on goods imported from Mexico — up to 100% or more on vehicles — is viewed as a profound threat in a nation heavily dependent on trade with the United States.
“It’s a disaster,” Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid, an economics professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said of Trump’s election. “I mean, it couldn’t be worse.”
Mexico’s economy — driven almost exclusively by trade, with more than 80% of exports sent north of the border — is already on the brink of recession after years of sluggish growth, said Moreno-Brid.
The peso slumped to a two-year low Wednesday against the dollar amid fears that Trump will follow through on his tariff pronouncements.
“We should take seriously the threats and promises of Trump,” Martha Bárcena, a former Mexican ambassador to Washington, wrote Wednesday on the social media platform X. “It’s not just campaign rhetoric.”
Economists had warned that even a small rise in tariffs on Mexico’s goods could lead to more unemployment and poverty, potentially leading more people to migrate to the United States.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE by Patrick J. McDonnell, Kate Linthicum IN THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
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