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Sovereignty in discourse, subordination in practice While the Mexican government insists on defending national sovereignty in discourse, in practice the country is increasingly consolidating itself as a subordinate piece within the economic, political, and migratory strategy of the United States. The relationship between the two countries is not an alliance of equals, but a profoundly unequal integration, where Mexico bears increasing costs based on the interests of U.S. imperialism. One example is the operation against “El Mencho,” which the Mexican government carried out under pressure from the United States. Another example is the tariffs on Chinese goods, aligned with the policies of its northern neighbor. The most scandalous case is the Mexican government's refusal to send oil to Cuba under the threat of tariffs imposed by U.S. imperialism. This contradiction is not new, but in the current context —marked by the crisis of global capitalism, proxy wars, the relative weakening of the United States and the rise of China as a power— it has become more evident and acute. Economic dependence: an unbreakable chain within capitalism The nearshoring phenomenon has been presented as a historic opportunity for Mexico. Both the López Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum administrations have promoted it as a way to attract foreign investment and generate employment. The relocation of companies to Mexico, driven by the United States' need to shorten its supply chains and reduce its dependence on China, has been portrayed as a great opportunity, masking the overexploitation of resources and labor. The PRI and PAN governments also presented the massive influx of maquiladoras as the “Mexican miracle.” It's worth remembering that Salinas de Gortari claimed that this policy—which entailed the destruction of national industry and increased economic dependence on the United States—would lead Mexico to become a developed nation. Mexico is integrated into these production chains under conditions of subordination. The national economy depends heavily on exports to the United States: nearly 80% are destined for that country. Meanwhile, strategic decisions—investment, technology, distribution—remain beyond its control. More is produced, yes, but the wealth is not reflected in the working class or the poorest sectors of society. The result is an integration that strengthens transnational capital without fundamentally transforming the country's economic structure. The benefits are concentrated in large national and international corporations, while job insecurity, the plundering of natural resources, and economic dependence persist. This model did not begin with the governments of the so-called Fourth Transformation; it has historical roots. What is objectionable is that governments that claim to be “progressive,” far from reversing it, have deepened it and presented it as a strength. Security: cooperation under pressure In the area of security, the situation of subservience is even more evident. Under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking and organized crime, the United States has exerted constant pressure to align Mexican security policies with its interests. Recently, US Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth indicated that Trump has drawn up a strategic security map that stretches from Greenland to the Gulf of Mexico, including the Panama Canal and several countries in the region. This implies that everything that happens in this area is considered a matter of national security. The so-called bilateral cooperation between Mexico and the United States, far from being an exercise between equals, often operates as a mechanism of interference. US agencies influence the definition of strategies, while the discourse of sovereignty is tailored to imperialist interests. Since Trump's arrival, Mexico has intensified extraditions of drug traffickers, modified its anti-drug policy, and increased actions against organized crime. During Claudia Sheinbaum's term, 300 different types of drugs have been seized, 40,000 people have been arrested, and 30,000 firearms have been confiscated; in addition, more than 1,800 drug labs have been destroyed. However, these results are largely due to pressure from the United States. What the Mexican government presents as collaboration, in practice translates into subordination. Mexico assumes increasing responsibilities in containing problems that have shared roots—such as drug and arms trafficking—without any real capacity to decide on joint actions on both sides of the border. “Cooperation” in the fight against organized crime functions, in practice, as a form of control. This is very clear with the countries that formed the so-called Shield of the Americas, which agree to use lethal force to combat criminal groups, as well as coordinated actions with the United States. Although Mexico did not formally sign the Doral agreement, in practice it does what the U.S. government demands. Mexico's immigration policy as an extension of that of the United States In recent years, Mexico has assumed the role of containing migratory flows to the United States, reinforcing its southern border and deploying security forces to curb the transit of Latin American migrants. In 2024, Mexico had 1.4 million undocumented migrants within its borders, an alarming figure that quadrupled in just two years. The government's policy is to try to absorb these migrants by granting them temporary residency and integrating them into daily life. The measure of assisting immigrants is not inherently wrong; we, as communists, oppose the artificial borders created by different countries and support the legal movement of all workers worldwide. The problem arises when the government is incapable of providing substantial improvements for all workers, including migrants, and the only thing it can offer is poor jobs and little security. This shift in immigration policy is largely a response to pressure from Washington. Mexico is managing a crisis it did not create, but is doing so in accordance with US interests. Migration is deeply linked to poverty, violence, and the region's economic conditions, a consequence of imperialist intervention and the region's underdeveloped capitalism. Trump has unleashed a hate campaign against migrants, ignoring his class's responsibility for mass migration and demanding that other countries deal with the problem. The result is clear: the border wall between the US and Mexico didn't disappear, it just shifted. Today, Mexican territory functions as a migration filter to prevent passage into the United States. Meanwhile, thousands of migrants are trapped in vulnerable conditions, turned into bargaining chips within a deeply unequal bilateral relationship. An unequal relationship that benefits imperialism Today, Mexico is in a subordinate position to the US, and the beneficiaries are large international and local corporations. The production of all goods exported from Mexico to the United States has one purpose: to make American products more competitive in the global market. In Mexico, precarious jobs are created, without labor benefits or only the minimum necessary to keep things running; resources such as water, lithium, and so-called critical minerals are exploited without the country benefiting significantly from all of this. In February of this year, an action plan on critical minerals was announced, stipulating that Mexico must ensure the supply of strategic materials to the United States, such as lithium, graphite, and rare earth elements. The goal is for the US to reduce its dependence on Asia for these minerals. Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's economy secretary, known for his pro-business stance, announced this agreement as a major step toward maintaining the trade agreement with the US. This individual, who is in charge of the USMCA negotiations, will yield to any demands from imperialism and will present it as a great achievement and benefit for the country. There is nothing progressive about Mexico having to hand over its mineral resources to the United States, including some of its water. It is a scandalous policy of subservience being sold as a great victory. The fact that the Mexican Supreme Court has ruled that lithium can only be mined by Mexicans will open a new front in the struggle. The United States will pressure to overturn this measure and force Mexico to back down. The Mexican government will resort to laws and legal means, but the only way to defend these resources is through street protests, as General Lázaro Cárdenas did when he nationalized the oil industry. Beyond the discourse The fact that Mexico is constantly suffering attacks and threats from U.S. imperialism is not the fault of the current government. As mentioned above, this pressure is being exerted on all countries of the continent, especially those the U.S. considers key. The major problem with the 4T government is that its policy for defending itself against imperialism has been to conceal these oppressive ties and present them as a “relationship between equals” or “this proposal is sovereign, no one is forcing us,” etc. The Mexican government repeatedly lies to the working class to try to hide the subordinate role Mexico plays within the international capitalist system. The revolutionary potential of the masses to fight imperialism is immense, but the government seems to distrust this. Blatantly claiming that “everything is under control” can only lead to the demobilization of the masses, something extremely dangerous that will facilitate imperialist attacks on our country. To speak of sovereignty without questioning threats and oppression is a way of masking the continuation of subordination. Worse still, the policy of Claudia Sheinbaum's government is to maintain this relationship of subordination, even accentuating it in order to "avoid problems" with the neighbor to the north. This isn't unique to the Mexican government; it's a recurring issue in all Latin American countries, regardless of whether they're right-wing or left-wing. The real reason is that, within capitalism, there's no room for the national sovereignty of any country dependent on and subordinate to big capital. As we've said since AMLO took office, if you accept capitalism, you have to accept it in all its forms. Some Latin American governments, including Mexico's, are trying to manage backward and dependent capitalism amid enormous imperialist pressure, and all they are achieving is to expose the deep weaknesses of reformism. If Mexico wants to break with this logic, tactical adjustments and partial renegotiations of the USMCA are not enough. A profound transformation of the economic and political relations that currently bind it to the interests of the United States is required. The only way forward is to maintain an anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, and internationalist policy. That is, to begin by sending oil to Cuba and establishing an international organizational relationship with the working class of all countries to confront the imperialist onslaught. To expropriate financial capital and place it under the protection and use of the working class's needs. To nationalize large companies and put them into operation under the control of the working class, producing goods that the people need. To arm the people and prepare them ideologically and materially for the struggle. A call to the working class of the USA to fight against Trump and against capital. Only in this way can we break the economic and political foundations of dependency and pave the way for a sovereign and anti-capitalist life. Clearly, this is not the logic of the current government; therefore, we must forge a tool of struggle—the revolutionary party—to carry out these tasks. https://marxismo.mx/soberania-en-discurso-subordinacion-en-la-practica-la-relacion-mexico-estados-unidos-hoy/ Back |
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