PM touts gender equality before Mexican Senate
MEXICO CITY — Justin Trudeau issued a progressive call to arms Friday, urging lawmakers in Mexico’s most populous city to embrace and promote the rights of workers and women as an antidote to the creeping threat of isolationism that could imperil trade and economic growth around the world.
His speech to the Mexican Senate capped a four-day trip that began in Washington, D.C., largely revolving around the ongoing talks to rewrite the decades-old North American Free Trade Agreement and bring it into the modern era.
Ensuring it is a deal that benefits all segments of society is essential, the prime minister said.
“Isolationism is taking hold in too many corners of the world, but our people must not succumb to fear. We, as leaders, must not succumb to fear,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau’s first official visit to Mexico followed a two-day stop in Washington. In both cities, he sat down with political leaders as well as civil society groups active in promoting women’s rights.
At the NAFTA talks, Canada has introduced a proposal aimed at compelling Mexico to pay workers higher wages and do away with so-called “yellow” unions that represent employers rather than employees.
An exodus of jobs to Mexico, particularly in the auto sector, is a major concern of both Canada and the U.S., but business leaders in Mexico have argued that workers rights’ and pay should be an internal issue for each country.
Trudeau said Canada has Mexico’s support when it comes to introducing a gender chapter into the trade pact.
What that might look like remains under development; at a forum for business executives in Washington this week, Trudeau noted that such a chapter could be “aspirational, it can be concrete.”
Trudeau told the Mexican Senate he appreciates its support for the chapter, but at the same time, the groups he met in Mexico City told him stories about the unacceptable treatment of women and girls. Among those he met Thursday were groups active in advancing reproductive choice for Mexican women.