Tillerson crosses the border to rebuild ties with Mexico

In response, consumers south of the border are boycotting US brands and goods and lawmakers have introduced a bill to stop buying US corn. Mexicans staged massive anti-US protests Sunday, forming human chains along the border where Trump would like to build a wall. And President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a planned trip to Washington to meet with Trump in apparent frustration.

That’s the backdrop as Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly arrive in Mexico for meetings with Peña Nieto, Mexican ministers and military officials. The trip is meant to allow the new US Cabinet members to establish relationships and coordinate on bilateral issues that range from counterterrorism, border security, immigration and trade that amounts to $1.5 billion a day. But the secretaries make their debut under a cloud.

“Today’s rhetoric is forcing Mexicans everywhere to question the unquestionable: Did the country make a mistake 25 years ago by betting its future on North America?” asked Peter Schecter, director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council. “No relationship is perfect, and there is much to develop and improve in Mexico. But by ostracizing our neighbor, we are in imminent danger of dismantling the North American experiment we’ve built over the last 20-plus years.”