Trudeau tells Mexico that gender equality is a key to prosperity
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 imperils 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, Trudeau 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.
“Our challenge lies in ensuring that everyone benefits from economic growth. And we do that by pursuing an ambitious, progressive vision of what the future can — and should — look like.”
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.
Putting the focus on making NAFTA “progressive” is in part a political strategy for the Liberals, who are looking to left-leaning Democrats in the U.S. Congress to help support the agreement in the face of a White House that seems bent on ripping it up.
In Mexico, it is aimed at bolstering Canada’s standing among Mexican citizens so strong bilateral relations can continue once President Enrique Pena Nieto’s term comes to an end next year.
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 United States, but business leaders in Mexico have argued that workers rights’ and pay should be an internal issue for each country.
But Trudeau said Canada does have Mexico’s support when it comes to introducing a gender chapter into the trade pact. What that might look like remains under development.
Trudeau told the Mexican Senate he appreciates their 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.
In Mexico, a crisis of women being killed on the basis of their gender prompted the Mexican government to put out a gender violence alert in 2015 for Mexico state, just outside Mexico City.
Currently, about 37 per cent of Mexican senators are women, but next year’s election will require that 50 per cent of the candidates be female.
“I challenge you,” Trudeau told senators, “to use your position and power to strongly push for the rights of women and girls in Mexico and around the world.”