AMLO's courting of Mexico's US diaspora may fail

Subject

Courting Mexican expatriates.

Significance

The Mexican government conducted an open consultation in 13 US cities between March 17 and April 13 to reach out to Mexican migrants living there, assess their concerns and propose ways of addressing them. Despite this, numerous migrant groups have expressed fears that the government is not taking their feedback on board and is pursuing policies that could do more harm than good. On March 28, the government closed the largest offices of the National Migration Institute (INM)'s 'Paisano' programme, which informed Mexicans travelling between Mexico and the United States about their rights.

Impacts

• Trump will ramp up anti-Mexican rhetoric as he seeks re-election, putting AMLO under pressure to support migrants.
• Expatriates' key demand is legal support to regularise their US status, which may be unfulfilled amid AMLO's austerity drive.
• Mexico's increasingly hard line on Central American migrants may undermine AMLO's support among some expatriates.