After stating that a narrative about the USMCA prevails in Washington that does not correspond to reality, the rector of UNAM, Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas, pointed out that in the renegotiation of the trade agreement, Mexico must seek a strategic alliance with Canada.

When giving the inaugural lecture, “The Strategic Integration of North America,” he explained that, with the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House, Canada proposed negotiating its trade agreement independently with the United States, but today the prevailing view is that Mexico and Canada should unite in this renegotiation and together face this challenge.

The Rector considered that the protectionist measures of the United States, "beyond the rhetoric, will be something temporary", since the long-term trend is the strengthening of the economic integration of North America.

“Not doing so would mean losing more competitiveness in an increasingly globalized world and putting the region at a disadvantage, notably compared to other emerging economies and to China. I believe that it is counterproductive to the United States' own interests to 'mutilate' this relationship and not bet on greater integration of North America,” said Lomelí Vanegas. 

In the conference that is part of the Colloquium “The Other Side: New Perspectives on the Mexico-United States Relationship”, Lomelí Vanegas highlighted that the economies of the three countries represent around 29 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP); and between 2003 and 2024 their trade went from 632 billion dollars to more than 1.6 trillion dollars annually, with an average growth of 5 percent per year.

In addition, he said, 56.5 million jobs are generated in the region. Of these, 36 million are concentrated in the United States; six million in Canada; and 14.5 million in Mexico come from sectors linked to trade, which represent 24 percent of total employment.

At the meeting organized by UNAM – through the Center for Research on North America –, El Colegio Nacional and the newspaper El Universal, the Rector explained that the region is home to 6 percent of the world's population (513 million inhabitants) and its economic weight (24 billion dollars) is greater than that of the European Union (16.6 billion dollars). In other words, it is only surpassed by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Association, made up of 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

At the Jorge Carpizo Auditorium of the Humanities Coordination, he insisted that there is a promising future for relations between Mexico and the United States for economic integration and greater academic relations.

“If we look at the region's potential in the long term, we will come to the conclusion that it would be very costly for the United States to ignore the importance of the relationship with Mexico, the economic and commercial relationship. We believe that in the long term this integration will deepen and that the renegotiation of the Treaty (T-MEC) can be an opportunity to advance regional integration,” he reiterated.

Lomelí also said that strategic alliances should be established to strengthen infrastructure, employment and supply chains. In addition, relocation or nearshoring could be used as a strategy to strengthen regional manufacturing, foster academic alliances and promote talent development, among other aspects.

On her occasion, the current president of El Colegio Nacional, Susana Lizano Soberón, stressed that relations between both nations have gone through complex periods, marked by challenging political and socioeconomic situations. However, in most cases there are also efforts at cooperation that have led to beneficial solutions for both countries.

“At El Colegio Nacional we are convinced that the parallel history between our country and the United States has enriched both nations; in particular, in scientific, academic, cultural and artistic collaboration,” he said, adding that the joint work of universities and public and private institutions on multiple projects has benefited scientific, technological and cultural development.

CISAN Director Graciela Martínez-Zalce said that it was a day of sensible reflection on the region, in which one could look beyond Google maps, executive orders, explosive messages on social media and anti-immigrant and “nativist” rhetoric.

Meanwhile, David Aponte, editorial director of El Universal, stressed the importance of, in times of post-truth, digital oligarchy, authoritarian temptations and the lack of balance of power, the academy and journalism coming together to listen, understand and inform better. 

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US President Donald Trump has made changes to immigration matters, which has led to mass deportations, which has also resulted in the imposition of tariffs, actions that affect the US community, which is why they have taken to the streets in different parts of the country to protest against these actions.

These samples are added to the actions that have been carried out against Donald Trump's impositions, including the issue of tariffs, mentioned journalist Manuel Ortiz during the program Peninsula 360, in Hecho en California with Marcos Gutierrez. 

“The participation of young people at this time is very important and is related to the issue of tariffs, because it is clear that it is not the only cause; however, the massive protests that have been taking place and the participation of young people have had an effect on the decision to extend the deadline for the imposition of tariffs by one month,” said Ortiz. 

Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on Mexico on February 1. By the third day, the Mexican president and the Trump administration reached an agreement to pause the imposition for a month and established a working group on trade and security, committing to reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard to prevent drug and arms trafficking. This working group began to mobilize today, February 4.

During the radio program, Gerardo Ortiz spoke about the demonstration and the movement that was generated this Monday, February 3, with the call for “A day without immigrants,” a call that was mobilized through social networks, asking that they carry out activities for one day in their jobs, schools, businesses and all unnecessary activities, this in order to generate an economic impact in the country.

During his participation in the movement, Gerardo Ortiz noticed the absence of people in the streets, as well as Latino businesses closed in support of the day without immigrants; in addition to this, a group of people took to the streets to demand their rights.

For his part, the announcer Marcos Guitierrez recognized the participation of the young people who are more involved, as they go out into the streets to give a voice to those who do not have one, representing parents, women, children and adults. 

Finally, an isolated case was mentioned, as during a demonstration an American flag was burned in protest, however, during the broadcast a call was made not to take these actions, to demonstrate with respect and responsibility above all.

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The Washington DC-based consulting firm Gallup, famous for its public opinion polls around the world, reported that the new president of the United States, Donald Trump, barely has a 47 percent approval rating as he enters his second term, making him the most unpopular American president in the country's history.

“At 47 percent, President Donald Trump’s initial job approval rating for his second term is similar to the 45 percent he earned during his first term, again putting him below every other president-elect since 1953,” the pollster said in a statement.

And, he added, “Trump remains the only president-elect with initial approval ratings below 50 percent, and his latest disapproval rating (48 percent) is three percentage points higher than in 2017.”

The highest-ranked candidate so far, according to Gallup, remains Democrat John F. Kennedy, who, in the first month of his presidency in 1961, had a 72 percent approval rating and just 6 percent disapproval rating.

Kennedy is followed by Dwight Eisenhower (1953) and Barack Obama (2009), both with an approval rating of 68 percent, while third place is occupied by Jimmy Carter with 66 percent.

While it is true that other polls put Trump in a better position in terms of American liking, they do not radically change the figures. CNN poll says 56 percent of adult citizens expect Donald to be a very good or fairly good president, while 43 percent expect him to be a fairly bad or very bad president.

Polls conducted before Trump was sworn in as president barely gave him 50 percent of voter approval, such as the one conducted by Fox News, while that of the Wall Street Journal found that 47 percent of registered voters viewed him favorably, while 51 percent viewed him unfavorably.

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