The election of Donald Trump — whose campaign featured incendiary proposals on tariffs, immigration, and combating drug trafficking — is sending shock waves through Mexico, a nation with close economic, social, and cultural ties to its northern neighbor.
The president-elect’s vows to impose steep taxes on goods imported from Mexico — up to 100% or more on vehicles — is viewed as a profound threat in a nation heavily dependent on trade with the United States.
“It’s a disaster,” Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid, an economics professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said of Trump’s election. “I mean, it couldn’t be worse.”
Mexico’s economy — driven almost exclusively by trade, with more than 80% of exports sent north of the border — is already on the brink of recession after years of sluggish growth, said Moreno-Brid.
The peso slumped to a two-year low Wednesday against the dollar amid fears that Trump will follow through on his tariff pronouncements.
“We should take seriously the threats and promises of Trump,” Martha Bárcena, a former Mexican ambassador to Washington, wrote Wednesday on the social media platform X. “It’s not just campaign rhetoric.”
Economists had warned that even a small rise in tariffs on Mexico’s goods could lead to more unemployment and poverty, potentially leading more people to migrate to the United States.
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