The Shuffle of Top Diplomats in Mexico Reflects New Strategy with United States Elliot Spagat - Associated Press
go to original April 9, 2016

A senior Mexican official said that a shuffle of top diplomats dealing with the United States reflected a new strategy to respond to false portrayals of Mexico that have spread during the U.S. presidential campaign.

“They are simply changes to put in place a new strategy in the environment we are living,” Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu told The Associated Press. “It’s a different environment than we had a year ago and one that obligates us, like anyone, to reconsider what we are doing and how we are doing it to have more effective, better results.”

On Tuesday, the government of President Enrique Pena Nieto named Carlos Sada, a longtime diplomat with deep experience in the U.S., to be ambassador in Washington, replacing an academic who was on the job only seven months. Paulo Carreno, who has extensive background in public relations, was named undersecretary for North American affairs.

Ruiz Massieu said both men are best suited to execute the new strategy, which aims to promote economic and cultural benefits of strong cross-border ties. The announcements came as Mexico has adopted a more aggressive response to negative depictions during the U.S. presidential campaign.

The secretary didn’t single out any candidate, but she said the U.S. campaign has featured false and distorted views of Mexico. Her remarks came shortly after Republican front-runner Donald Trump proposed cutting off remittances from Mexicans living in the U.S. to help force Mexico to pay for a border wall. “The Mexican government has firmly rejected views that have surfaced in the last few months against our community in the United States, against our country, against bilateral relations,” she said when asked about the tone of the campaign.

Read the rest at Salon

Related: Meet Carlos Sada, Mexico’s New Ambassador to the U.S. (El Daily Post)

Related: Mexico Will Implement Strategy Against Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric: Ruiz Massieu (The News)

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