AMLO asks Biden for less conservatism and more transformation

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador asked Americans to reject what he called the status quo and conservatism. The president made these exhortations during a meeting with his counterpart Joe Biden, whom he also asked to expand temporary work visa programs for Mexican and Central American migrants in that country.

"The way out is through transformation. We have to be bold in our actions. Transform, not maintain the status quo," said AMLO.

Joe Biden was receptive to the Mexican president's proposals and said that "my Administration is leading the way to create job opportunities through legal channels", while recalling that his government set a "record" during 2021 by issuing 300,000 H-2 visas for Mexican workers.

The Aztec president asked to "order the migratory flow" and "allow the arrival of workers, technicians and professionals of different disciplines, with temporary work visas to the United States" and said that "it is essential" to "regularize now" Mexican migrants who have been in the United States for years and explained that "they contribute to the development of this great nation".

This Tuesday, President López Obrador also had breakfast with the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, whom he described as a "friend".

Trade Agreements

During the meeting between presidents Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Joe Biden, it was agreed that Mexico will invest 1.5 billion dollars in infrastructure projects to modernize the border. The money will be part of a joint fund with the US to "make the flow of trade and people safer and more efficient", according to the official White House announcement. The Aztec nation will also continue with oil production. AMLO asserted that work will continue with U.S. investors, gas liquefaction plants, fertilizers and the creation of solar parks in Sonora and other border entities.

Mexico has also committed to buy 20,000 tons of powdered milk from the U.S. to "help families in rural communities", as well as another million tons of fertilizers for "farmers and small producers". For his part, Biden pledged to create legal job opportunities for migrants after recognizing the migration crisis as a hemispheric problem.

The meeting between the two presidents took place in the context of one of the worst migratory crises in the United States and Mexico. There are serious border problems that have awakened the concern of the American people due to the wave of illegal immigrants that are trying to enter their borders.