Trump tussle gives unpopular Mexican
leader much-needed shot in arm
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[January 28, 2017]
By Dave Graham
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Donald Trump's
combative style has buffeted Mexico's president for months, but deeply
unpopular Enrique Pena Nieto may end up thanking the new U.S. president
for prompting offended Mexicans to rally behind their leader.
From billionaire business magnate Carlos Slim to political opponents,
there has been a groundswell of support for Pena Nieto, who has cut a
lonely figure in months of bruising encounters with Trump.
Often referred to by his initials EPN, Pena Nieto is laboring under the
worst approval ratings of any Mexican president in decades due to
discontent over corruption, gang violence, sluggish growth and a jump in
fuel prices.
Trump's threats to scrap the NAFTA trade deal with Mexico and build a
border wall have caused anger and left Mexicans feeling fearful for the
future. His challenge to Pena Nieto on Thursday - saying he should skip
a planned summit between the two leaders if Mexico wasn't willing to pay
for the wall - was the final straw.
Pena Nieto replied a couple of hours later that he had canceled his
meeting with Trump, one of the president's biggest ever hits on Twitter,
getting more "likes" than when he personally broke news of the capture
of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in January of last
year.
"Bravo EPN!," cheered former President Vicente Fox, who had initially
condemned Pena Nieto for inviting Trump to Mexico for talks last August,
and who has waged a colorful and expletive-ridden campaign against the
Republican on Twitter.
Pena Nieto and Trump talked for about an hour by phone on Friday,
pledging to work out their differences and agreeing not to speak about
the wall in public for now.
Meanwhile, calls for unity grew in Mexico, led by Slim, a normally
media-shy 76-year-old who gave a 90-minute news conference in support of
the government on Friday.
"This is the most surprising example of national unity I've seen in my
life," said Slim, who spent several years in the past decade as the
world's richest man. "We have to back the president of Mexico so he can
defend our national interests."
Senior opposition leaders also urged a common front.
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Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto takes part during the deliver
of a message about foreign affairs at Los Pinos presidential
residence in Mexico City, Mexico, January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard
Garrido
"It's time to show unity and our commitment to Mexico," Alejandra
Barrales, head of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution
(PRD), said on Twitter.
Pena Nieto's credibility has been battered by a widespread public
perception that he has failed to battle corruption and indeed even
encouraged it since a conflict-of-interest row embroiled him, his
wife and a top minister in late 2014.
Some opposition critics fear the government will try to use Trump as
a screen to distract from its failings. However, two senior
officials told Reuters they hoped Pena Nieto would seize the moment
to act quickly and decisively to improve his image.
Expressions of dismay at Trump's behavior towards Mexico have almost
become a national pastime, and talk of boycotts against U.S.
companies is gathering steam on social media.
Slim, when asked about boycotting at his news conference, said it
wasn't a good idea to turn on U.S. companies, which are creating
jobs in Mexico.
Some foreign companies voiced support for Mexico too.
"I feel Mexico is being subjected to terror at the moment," said
Andreas Schindler, co-owner of German fruit wholesaler Don Limon's
parent Pilz Schindler, by phone from Hamburg. "We're right behind
Mexico."
(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Simon Gardner and Mary
Milliken)
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