Today, Mexico’s President, Enrique Peña Nieto will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House to discuss a range of topics including Obama’s executive action on immigration, economic development and the recent move to normalize relations between the U.S. and Cuba. Peña Nieto comes to Washington amid increasingly vocal national and international protests regarding Mexico’s endemic levels of corruption and violence.
Economic development will be a focal point of today’s meeting and several key cabinet officials from each country will partake in the second round of the U.S. – Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue spearheaded by Vice President Joe Biden. The high level dialogues will cover ways Mexico and the U.S. can work to promote economic competitiveness while bolstering economic growth, innovation and trade.
In light of growing public outrage both in Mexico and abroad over the country’s rising levels of violence, today’s dialogue may also cover ways in which both countries can work to strengthen and promote the rule of law. There has been a notable surge of calls on social media, most notably by organizations like Human Rights Watch, urging President Obama to use this meeting as opportunity to address Mexico’s failure to investigate the disappearance of 43 students in Ayotzinapa.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss the implications of Obama’s recent announcements regarding steps he has taken to overhaul the nation’s immigration system and the renewal of diplomatic relations with Cuba, two actions that Mexico has largely applauded and supported.
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