The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, announced last Friday that he will hold a “very important” meeting with the ruler of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, at the end of May, to address multiple issues such as security and crime on the border stretch. .
This was explained in his daily press conference, in which he detailed that, “possibly”, the meeting will be on the border between Mexico and Guatemala.
“We have a meeting pending. It is very likely that we will meet with President Arévalo in May,” López Obrador recalled.
It will be a “very important bilateral meeting,” he said, and to questions from journalists he responded that he trusts that “everything” will be discussed, including organized crime and the situation of violence on the border.
Even so, he clarified that the preparation and implementation of the event “is in process.” Meanwhile, the presidency of Guatemala confirmed the meeting, although it did not announce a date or topics to be discussed.
Approaches
This announcement comes days after the Mexican and Guatemalan Executives agreed to strengthen the processes of protection, care and return of migrant girls, boys and adolescents, an agreement sealed during the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, Carlos Ramiro Martínez, to the neighbor country.
In the meeting with the Foreign Minister of Mexico, Alicia Bárcena, both States agreed to a “new stage” of rapprochement in the bilateral relationship, “as a result of the synchronicity of ideas between the presidents,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On the other hand, López Obrador praised Arévalo, whom he considers “intelligent, honest and with a lot of love for the people,” and assured that his arrival to power “was the best thing that could happen to Guatemala.”
The agenda
“It is important to mention that it will be a meeting with rulers in two different situations. López Obrador is ending his term—October—this year and Arévalo is starting; They are two presidents with different dynamics,” declared Roberto Hidalgo, of the Central American Institute of Political Studies.
The analyst indicated that both presidents must address the “climate of organized crime, drug trafficking and smuggling” as mandatory issues.
He added that there are three major issues on the border of Guatemala and Mexico, although he indicated that other points such as trade, agriculture, manufacturing and tourism should also be placed on the work agenda.
He added to them that the problem of migration should be discussed in the conversations. “We must find a way to generate bilateral agreements that benefit not only Guatemala, but the entire Central American region,” he emphasized, while adding that better conditions and treatment must be sought for all people who migrate and who face great risks.
The tours
After taking office, President Bernardo Arévalo has made several tours outside the country.
In February he made a week-long tour of Europe, during which he met with King Felipe VI and the president of the Spanish government Pedro Sánchez, with the president of France, Emmanuel Macron; with the director general of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay; with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel; and with the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach.
In March he met with Vice President Kamala Harris in the US. The objective of the meeting was to strengthen the bilateral relationship between both countries. On that same trip, Arévalo spoke with President Joe Biden.
#Presidents #Mexico #Guatemala #meet #border