The Obama-Peña Nieto Meeting: Critical Issues in the Upcoming U.S.-Mexico Talks

Next month, President Barack Obama will meet with Mexico’s newly elected President Enrique Peña Nieto. While the two leaders met briefly last November, this meeting—Obama’s first in Latin America since his own re-election—will address major issues of concern to both nations including trade and investment, energy, border security and infrastructure, illicit drug trafficking and public safety. With significant political and economic consequences at stake, the Obama-Peña Nieto meeting will take place as both leaders face complex and contentious domestic challenges that have a direct impact on the bilateral relationship.

On April 11, the Latin America Initiative at Brookings hosted a discussion on the critical issues that will dominate the Obama- Peña Nieto meeting. Arturo Sarukhan, Brookings distinguished affiliate and former ambassador of Mexico to the United States, provided opening remarks on the larger political context for the bilateral meeting. A panel discussion followed featuring contributors to the forthcoming book, 
The End of Nostalgia: Mexico Confronts the Challenges of Global Competition
(Brookings, May 2013). Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Diana Villiers Negroponte moderated the discussion.