The prospect that U.S. President Donald Trump could scrap the North-American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the endless talk about a 2,000-mile border wall, the arrest and deportation of Mexican immigrants back to their home country… The US-Mexican saga can be pretty confusing, but one thing is clear: relations have turned sour. Mexico is mired in political and economic quicksand, but it can still count on an old friend for help: Spain.
“Many of the things we took for granted are being questioned in the ballot boxes,” said Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Videgaray. “Facing this situation, it is comforting to know that the relationship between Mexico and Spain today is strong - stronger and closer than ever.”
This year, the former colonial power and its former colony are celebrating the 40th anniversary of renewed diplomatic relations, and it is nothing but timely. Forty years after the fall of Spanish dictator Franco, Mexico is in need of unconditional international support. That is what Spain, La Madre Patria, can offer Mexico today. Spain has Mexico’s back, but as in every family, old baggage can weigh heavy on relationships.
When Donald Trump first declared that the United States government would build a border wall with Mexico to ebb migration – and force the southern neighbor to pay for it – Spain spoke up.
“We have a strong and intense bilateral relation,” said the Spanish Ambassador to Mexico. “Our ties are unshakeable and reinforced under any circumstance.”
In fact, Spanish President Mariano Rajoy called his Mexican counterpart Enrique Peña Nieto in the days following Trump’s announcement and with the help of other Spanish leaders hastily arranging an Ibero-American Summit in Mexico, which brought Spain, Portugal and Latin American countries together to discuss the delicate situation.
The fate of Mexican immigrants in the US – 40,000 illegal aliens were rounded up by US authorities in the last five months – was not forgotten either. Spanish leaders spoke up for the “dignity of Mexican immigrants,” who are forced to leave their family and life behind.
Country-to-country support is important – but so is the support of international organizations such as the United Nations. Mexico asked Spain to join Mexican diplomats denouncing the US administration for “violating the human rights of immigrants.”
Besides being a political shoulder to lean on, trade and investment with Spain may also come in handy. Although far less voluminous than US investment in Mexico, Spain is Mexico’s second-largest investor. In 2016, Spain invested US$26.7 billion in Mexico, around 11 percent of the total for that year.
Return investment in Spain has increased in recent years as well. Mexican multi-latinas (multi-national companies) like to go through Spain to sell products in the European market and have now accumulated €20 billion in the country. Spain is now the largest non-NAFTA importer of Mexican goods and champions discussions in the European Union for a renewed free trade agreement with Mexico.
Political and economic ties are becoming significant again. But why? The relationship “goes further than that,” as King Felipe VI of Spain said during his last visit to Mexico City. The Spain-Mexico connection is based on culture, above all else. The “Ibero-American family” share history, language and values.
Guadalajara, Mexico, was the first city to host the Ibero-American Summit in 1991. While Canada, the United States and Mexico were starting NAFTA talks the same year, Mexico and Spain were busy cementing their relationship under a new brand. “Ibero-America” symbolized a new identity – one based on equality between the former colonizer and its erstwhile colonies.
Today the Ibero-American family is based on a mutual feeling of kinship and historical links that transcend day-to-day international relations. Metaphors of brotherhood and affectionate language frequently emerge in speeches from Spanish and Mexican authorities.
“I like to call it a reunion, because Mexico and Spain have always been close, and over the past 40 years the relationship has bloomed,” said Videgaray when celebrating the 40th anniversary of bilateral relations in Madrid.
Sometimes, being part of the same family means that Spain is considered a full member of Latin America.
“Regarding Latin America, there were always bonds,” Gabriel Mato, a Spanish politician, told the Guadalajara Reporter. “It is not a country or a region that is distinct from ours. It is much closer to us.” These sentiments are not likely to dissolve soon, particularly when there is the prospect of a wall looming over Mexico’s future.
Yet, Spain and Mexico’s fraternal relationship is not free of tension – the historical baggage is always there. In April, José Antonio Sanchez, the President of the Spanish public radio and television channel (RTVE), made waves across Latin America during a press conference. Rather than explaining the public channel’s commitment to Latin American markets, Sanchez spelled out the perks of a second Spanish colonization of the Americas. Declaring that “Spain was not a colonizer, but a civilizer and evangelizer,” he sparked furious reactions in the press and social media on both sides of the Atlantic.
Mexico was particularly aggrieved by Sanchez’s comparing the Aztec Empire to Nazi Germany. Quoting the Australian academic Inga Clendinnen, he stated that “mourning the disappearance of the Aztec Empire is more or less like feeling regret at the defeat of the Nazis in World War II.” It may not have been the best way to sell RTVE products in Mexico.
Looking back into their shared past always runs the risk of sowing resentment. It is an unwelcome reminder of decades of Spanish rule.
Nevertheless, the Ibero-American bond is becoming stronger as Mexico’s political and economic relationship with the United States becomes increasingly tricky. And as if to symbolize Madrid’s support for Mexico in troubled times, Spain just inaugurated a brand-new Casa de México, a center designed to promote cultural and economic ties situated in the heart of the Spanish capital.