Mexico | Council on Foreign Relations

President Joe Biden’s attempts to grapple with a record number of migrants are keeping the role of enforcement at the center of the debate over U.S. asylum, border, and deportation policy.

Backgrounder by Diana Roy, Amelia Cheatham, and Claire Klobucista Jun 18, 2024

Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in the Western Hemisphere

Panelists discuss the social, economic, and political factors that contribute to the mass migration of people from Central and South America toward the United States and Mexico and potential U.S. policy responses.

Event with Katharine M. Donato, Silvia Giorguli, and Manuel Orozco Jun 26, 2023

Why U.S. Imports From Mexico Surpassed Those From China

New U.S. Census Bureau data shows the United States importing more goods from Mexico than from China. Will the shift change the global trading landscape?

In Brief by Brad W. Setser Feb 20, 2024

China

What Is China’s Role in Combating the Illegal Fentanyl Trade?

Those seeking to profit from fentanyl and governments seeking to control its supply are locked in a never-ending competition, with each new countermeasure spurring further innovation to circumvent it.

Expert Brief by Zongyuan Zoe Liu September 12, 2024
Ukraine

Ukraine Pushes Into Russia, 2024 DNC Begins, Foreign Hacking Targets Trump and Harris, and More

Ukraine’s surprise incursion of Russia’s Kursk region captures territory and stuns the Kremlin; the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago with concerns of divisions in the party over support for Israel in its war in the Gaza Strip; U.S. intelligence is on high alert after foreign hacking attempts on both former President Donald Trump’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaigns; and Mexico turns down Ukraine’s request for it to uphold warrants to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court.

Podcast with Carla Anne Robbins and Miriam Elder August 15, 2024 The World Next Week
Venezuela

In Venezuela, the Latin American Left Will Show Us What it Really Stands For

The presidents of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico must constrain Maduro to negotiate—for their own good.

Blog Post by Will Freeman August 9, 2024 Latin America’s Moment

Experts in this Region

Shannon K. O'Neil

Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair

United States

The U.S. Immigration Debate

Comprehensive immigration reform has eluded Congress for decades. Presidents have increasingly turned to executive action to reshape asylum and border policy.

Backgrounder by Diana Roy , Claire Klobucista and Amelia Cheatham August 7, 2024
Mexico

Mexico’s Long War: Drugs, Crime, and the Cartels

Violence continues to rage more than a decade after the Mexican government launched a war against drug cartels.

Backgrounder by CFR.org Editors August 5, 2024
Latin America

In Latin America, Your Zip Code—Not Just Your Nationality—Determines Whether You Live in a Democracy

Many big cities are doing well, but in flyover country organized crime and corruption often smother democracy.

Article by Will Freeman July 9, 2024 Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy

United States

How the U.S. Patrols Its Borders

President Joe Biden’s attempts to grapple with a record number of migrants are keeping the role of enforcement at the center of the debate over U.S. asylum, border, and deportation policy.

Backgrounder by Diana Roy , Amelia Cheatham and Claire Klobucista June 18, 2024 Renewing America
Elections and Voting

Women This Week: Mexico to Elect First Woman President

Welcome to “Women Around the World: This Week,” a series that highlights noteworthy news related to women and U.S. foreign policy. This week’s post covers June 1 to June 7.

Blog Post by Noël James June 7, 2024 Women Around the World
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Biden’s Gaza Dilemmas, 80 Years Since D-Day, Mexico’s Milestone Election, and More

U.S. President Joe Biden faces increasing international and domestic pressures on his policy toward the Israel-Hamas war amid worsening humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip; Western leaders commemorate the eightieth anniversary of D-Day with Russia’s war in Ukraine front of mind; Mexico holds massive general elections that are likely to usher in the country’s first woman president; and North Korea tests new satellite and missiles.

Podcast with Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins May 30, 2024 The World Next Week
Mexico

Mexico’s Presidential Election, With Andrés Rozental

Andrés Rozental, a distinguished retired Mexican diplomat, president of Rozental & Asociados, and the founding president of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the dynamics of Mexico’s upcoming election and its consequences for the Mexican people as well as for U.S.-Mexico relations.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Andrés Rozental May 28, 2024 The President’s Inbox
Mexico

Mexico’s 2024 Elections: What to Know

Against a backdrop of widespread violence, a record number of voters will look to elect Mexico’s first woman president in a June election that polls predict will go to Claudia Sheinbaum.

Expert Brief by Shannon K. O'Neil May 24, 2024 Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy
Mexico

Organized crime fuels Mexico’s election violence, plus Europe’s Southern Cone cocaine pipeline

Organized crime’s hold on local governments fuels record election violence; Europe’s cocaine pipeline shifting to the Southern Cone.

Blog Post by Shannon K. O'Neil and Will Freeman April 24, 2024 Latin America’s Moment
Sudan

Congress’s Urgent Agenda, Sudan’s Year of War, Ecuador-Mexico Embassy Fray, and More

Congress returns from recess and grapples with contentious agenda items, including reauthorization of a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and a Ukraine aid package; Sudan enters a second year of civil war with more than half of the country’s population in need of aid and millions more displaced; and Ecuadorian police breach international law by raiding the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas.

Podcast with Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins April 11, 2024 The World Next Week
Mexico

CFR Fellows' Book Launch Series: From Peril to Partnership by Paul J. Angelo

In From Peril to Partnership, using case studies of Colombia and Mexico, Paul Angelo evaluates the efficacy of U.S. security assistance and the necessary conditions and stakeholders in partner nations that facilitate success. The book answers why Plan Colombia achieved its objectives and why the Mérida Initiative underdelivered in Mexico. It goes beyond drug war theatrics and the “one-size-fits-all” approach to U.S.-led stabilization. The CFR Fellows’ Book Launch series highlights new books by CFR fellows.

Event with Paul J. Angelo and Shannon K. O'Neil March 11, 2024 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch
Colombia

From Peril to Partnership

Paul J. Angelo provides the first headlining case studies of Plan Colombia and the Mérida Initiative.

Book by Paul J. Angelo March 8, 2024 Latin America Studies Program