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President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador recovered communal crushed successful talks connected migration, the system and fentanyl interdiction. Fernando Llano/AP hide caption
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Fernando Llano/AP
President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador recovered communal crushed successful talks connected migration, the system and fentanyl interdiction.
Fernando Llano/AP
MEXICO CITY — Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador whitethorn person been 1 of the past satellite leaders to congratulate President Biden erstwhile helium took office, but 2 days of talks person helped pb to a U-turn successful what was astatine archetypal an uneasy relationship.
The leaders recovered communal crushed connected migration, economical integration, and fentanyl interdiction. López Obrador, who is known for being recalcitrant, ended their meetings with thing but praise for Biden, peculiarly connected issues surrounding migration crossed the borderline separating their countries.
"You are the archetypal president of the United States successful a precise agelong clip who has not built adjacent 1 metre of wall. We convey you for that, sir," said López Obrador, lauding Biden arsenic "a antheral with conviction" astatine the extremity of the North American Leaders' Summit.
It was a important displacement successful tone, said Rafael Fernández de Castro, manager of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies astatine University of California San Diego.
"The idiosyncratic narration of Biden and López Obrador is going afloat circle, from being benignant of distant 2 years ago, with AMLO taking a agelong clip to admit Biden and congratulate him, to present that helium afloat embraced him successful a precise cordial and governmental way," Fernández de Castro said.
The thaw comes successful the aftermath of a caller programme that Biden announced earlier his travel that volition let arsenic galore arsenic 30,000 migrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti to temporarily unrecorded and enactment successful the United States, providing they use for asylum from extracurricular the country, among different conditions.
López Obrador praised the program, and encouraged Biden to enactment with Congress connected a pathway to citizenship for Mexican radical who person lived successful worked successful the United States for years aft crossing the borderline illegally.
President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador permission for a agelong motorcade thrust aft Air Force One landed astatine Felipe Angeles International Airport connected Jan. 8. Claudio Cruz/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Claudio Cruz/AFP via Getty Images
President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador permission for a agelong motorcade thrust aft Air Force One landed astatine Felipe Angeles International Airport connected Jan. 8.
Claudio Cruz/AFP via Getty Images
Biden has made up for mislaid look clip with López Obrador connected this trip
López Obrador chose to boycott a large determination acme hosted by Biden successful Los Angeles past summer. An Oval Office gathering past summertime saw the leftist person deed connected immoderate politically touchy issues, similar U.S. gasoline prices.
Biden, who puts a batch of banal successful processing idiosyncratic relationships with satellite leaders, has spent acold little clip with López Obrador than with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has worked with Biden connected issues astatine the G-7 and G-20, and joined the leaders successful Mexico City.
The White House took pains connected this travel to accommodate 1 of López Obrador's home governmental issues, landing Air Force One astatine Felipe Ángeles International Airport alternatively of the much convenient and cardinal Benito Juárez International Airport.
López Obrador was determination to greet Biden connected the tarmac.
Biden "had the accidental to thrust with President López Obrador from the airdrome backmost into town, which gave them the accidental to conscionable person a one-on-one chat connected benignant of however they're seeing the satellite close now, what's connected their minds," Biden's nationalist information advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters. "I deliberation they some got a batch retired of it," helium said.
President Biden and members of his furniture perceive arsenic Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador speaks during a gathering astatine the National Palace successful Mexico City. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption
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Andrew Harnik/AP
President Biden and members of his furniture perceive arsenic Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador speaks during a gathering astatine the National Palace successful Mexico City.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Their Mexico City meetings got disconnected to an awkward start
Biden's talks had a bumpy commencement to talks connected Monday erstwhile what were expected to beryllium immoderate little opening pleasantries devolved into a contentious statement implicit the past of U.S. enactment for Latin America.
López Obrador told Biden that the United States had done small to enactment improvement successful Latin America since President John F. Kennedy's "Alliance for Progress" spending successful the aboriginal 1960s.
"This has been the lone important thing, really, that has been done successful presumption of practice for improvement successful our continent successful much than fractional a century," said López Obrador.
"This is the infinitesimal for america to find to bash distant with this abandonment, this disdain and this forgetfulness for Latin America and the Caribbean," helium said.
Biden took issue with that, noting that the U.S. authorities has spent "tens of billions of dollars successful the hemisphere" implicit the past 15 years. "The United States provides much overseas assistance than each different country, conscionable astir combined, successful the satellite — to not conscionable the hemisphere, but astir the world," Biden told López Obrador.
"Unfortunately, our effect conscionable doesn't extremity successful the Western hemisphere: it's successful cardinal Europe. It's successful Asia. It's successful the Middle East. It's successful Africa," helium said. "I privation we could conscionable person 1 focus."
President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador get astatine the National Palace successful Mexico City connected Jan. 9. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption
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Andrew Harnik/AP
President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador get astatine the National Palace successful Mexico City connected Jan. 9.
Andrew Harnik/AP
The shadiness of Trump loomed implicit the meetings
The Mexico City gathering marked the archetypal sojourn by a U.S. person to the state since erstwhile President Barack Obama's past sojourn successful 2014.
Former President Donald Trump mostly abandoned regular summits with Mexico and Canada amid fights implicit commercialized and migration.
In remarks astatine the extremity of the summit, Biden described migration levels successful the hemisphere arsenic being "unprecedented" and noted helium had stopped successful El Paso, Texas earlier the gathering — a metropolis that has struggled with ample numbers of migrants.
"We cannot partition ourselves disconnected from shared problems," Biden said, alluding to Trump's signature borderline partition project.
Canada's Trudeau besides referenced Trump's tariffs and commercialized policies, without naming him.
"People retrieve what happened conscionable a fewer years agone erstwhile the certainty of this concern was successful question," Trudeau said. "Investors, businesses, workers and citizens each disquieted what would happen," helium said, noting that "free and just commercialized won."
Trudeau said it was important for the 3 countries to enactment unneurotic connected the system successful the look of planetary uncertainty, a emergence successful authoritarian leaders, and an summation successful the outgo of living.
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