Border wall plan spurs Mexican patriotism
AMERICAN President Donald Trump’s vow to make Mexicans pay for a massive border wall has sparked patriotic fervour south of the US border.
Mexicans are replacing profile pictures on social media with their country’s flag. Others are calling for boycotts of American products like Coca-Cola and Starbucks.
On Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, people are using the hashtag #WeAreAllMexico, punctuating anti-Trump tweets with cries of “Viva Mexico!” and boasting that they live in “the best country in the world”.
President Enrique Pena Nieto’s spokesman, his foreign and finance ministers, and government departments have made the country’s green, white and red flag their profile photo on Twitter.
A slew of hashtags encourage Mexicans to stay away from American goods: #AdiosProductosGringos (goodbye gringo products), #AdiosStarbucks, #AdiosMcDonalds and #AdiosCocaCola.
Telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim, the world’s fourth richest man, called a rare news conference to express his “great pleasure” at the burst of national pride and support for the president, even though Pena Nieto’s economic reforms have chipped away at the billionaire’s telephone empire.
“This is the most surprising display of national unity that I have seen in my life,” Slim said, urging Mexicans to support Pena Nieto’s negotiations with the US administration.
Meanwhile, The EU and Mexico on Wednesday said they would accelerate free trade talks amid a wave of protectionist threats by Trump.
Mexico has become a repeated target of Trump, who has vowed to put “America first” and renegotiate the Nafta trade deal binding the two countries as well as build a border wall to stop migrants entering the US.
The Trump administration has also bashed Germany, the EU’s most powerful country, accusing Berlin on Tuesday of manipulating the euro to win advantage for its export-driven economy at the expense of the US.
“Together, we are witnessing the worrying rise of protectionism around the world,” the EU’s top trade negotiator, Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem, and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said in a joint statement.
Mexico and the EU have had a trade deal since 2000 but agreed in 2015 to modernise the accord to better reflect today’s global economy.
With a fresh deal, Mexico wants to show that “they can reach agreements with other partners,” an EU official following Latin America said on condition of anonymity.