“The idea of North America might be over,” said Tony Payan. “I want to believe it’s not.”
Payan, the director of the Mexico Institute at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and Earl Anthony Wayne, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico and Public Policy Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., spoke at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University during a March 22 afternoon discussion called the “Future of U.S.-Mexico Relations.” The 90-minute talk, held at Mason’s Arlington Campus, touched on trade agreements, immigration, and border security, among other topics involving the contentious region.
The panel was hosted by the Schar School’s Center for Security Policy Studies and the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center. Ellen Laipson, director of the Master’s in International Security program, welcomed the audience of over 40 people.
Associate professor and expert on U.S.-Mexico relations, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, moderated the panel.
“Mexico is the U.S.’s most important trading partner,” said Wayne. “It touches the daily lives of American citizens more than any other relationship we have.”
Wayne discussed the U.S.’s economic relationship with Mexico since the North American Free Trade Agreement began in 1994. “There are five million more U.S.-Mexico trade-related jobs in the U.S. because of NAFTA,” he said. “This is seven times more jobs than when NAFTA went into effect.”
Payan took the stage to discuss the Mexican side of immigration and trade. “[Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel] López-Obrador feels there is too much dependence on American gas,” he said. “Mexico is importing 80 percent of its gasoline from the U.S., and López-Obrador desires to reduce imports and try to figure out how to produce natural gas.”
However, there is no clear business model to achieve energy independence in Mexico, Payan said.
Correa-Cabrera steered the discussion to a question-and-answer session beginning with the hotly debated topic of Central American migration through Mexico to the U.S.
“The immediate problem is what to do with these 70 to 80 thousand migrants from Central America,” said Payan. “I don’t think the U.S. and Mexico are going to find a solution on the border until they stem the tide in Central America.”
Payan and Wayne agreed the controversial border wall between the countries is not the answer. There needs to be cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico to assist nations dealing with violence and hunger, they suggested.
After the panel, Laipson commented on the significance of these kinds of discussions. “This is an opportunity to connect with students and the community,” she said. “It is always an honor to see so many members of the community come out to learn more about issues that affect us every day.”