“People in Mexico are too far removed from the struggle of the Hispanic community and the electoral process in the United States for them to have an opinion beyond basic anger,” he told me by email. “But it’s not personal for them. Our audience’s reaction [at Univision], on the other hand, has been furious. You have to keep in mind that Trump didn’t just condemn illegal immigration; he questioned the moral bearings of undocumented immigrants! Not only that: He clumsily suggested that the Mexican government sends immigrants here. And that just added insult to injury for these fiercely independent people.”

Was Krauze impressed by Pena Nieto’s recent comments on Trump?

“Something is better than nothing, but only slightly better,” he said. “My point has always been that Mexico’s government could have set an important precedent on civilized political discourse. It was not an argument for confrontation, but rather [for] information. … Pena’s administration didn’t have to fight Trump; it merely had to set the record straight with plain and simple facts.” Among these, Krauze added, is the lack of evidence that immigration increases violent crime in U.S. cities and the fact that net Mexican migration to the United States now appears to be negative, meaning more people are returning to Mexico than crossing into the U.S.