Opinion: Could Mexico make America great again? The path forward

This is my tenth week successful a enactment reasoning and penning astir wherefore Mexico is simply a cardinal — and strategical — enabler of the United States’ maturation and development. When I started, I had small uncertainty astir that conclusion. But arsenic I dug deeper into each topic, the condemnation lone grew stronger: 1 of the astir underappreciated strategical assets the United States has contiguous is Mexico.

I began this bid by looking astatine the argumentation model and priorities shaping the United States today.

Stripping distant the noise, I identified 4 guardrails: the request to decouple from China, re-industrialize the economy, determination from escaped commercialized to managed (or “fair”) commercialized and dainty economical argumentation arsenic nationalist information policy. What became instantly wide is that each of these pillars has a Mexican constituent that tin accelerate — and de-risk — the U.S. way forward.

Take China. The situation is not simply reducing dependence; it’s doing truthful without breaking proviso chains oregon slowing growth. Mexico offers the lone realistic reply astatine scale: proximity, integration, spot and capacity. North America competing unneurotic is acold much effectual than the United States competing alone.

Re-industrialization tells a akin story. The U.S. needs factories, workers and speed. Mexico brings a young labour force, decades of manufacturing know-how and seamless integration with U.S. accumulation systems. This isn’t outsourcing — it’s co-producing, and it’s the quality betwixt wishful reasoning and execution.

On trade, the U.S.–Mexico narration shows wherefore not each deficits are created equal. When measured successful worth added alternatively than gross flows, what looks similar an imbalance turns into interdependence. Mexico is not conscionable selling to the United States; it is buying from it, assembling with it, and exporting jointly to the world. This is managed commercialized that really works.

Then there’s nationalist security. Energy, AI, autos, agriculture and integer services each stock the aforesaid reality: resilience present depends connected determination systems. Mexico anchors U.S. vigor exports, enables AI hardware and information infrastructure, stabilizes nutrient proviso chains, sustains automotive competitiveness, and absorbs a increasing stock of U.S. services exports. Security contiguous is not isolation — it’s reliable integration.

Across demographics, the logic repeats itself. The U.S. is aging. Mexico is younger. The U.S. needs workers, consumers, and growth. Mexico is becoming a larger, wealthier marketplace adjacent door. Thirteen cardinal radical lifted retired of poorness successful six years is not conscionable a societal accomplishment — it’s a aboriginal request awesome for U.S. goods and services.

Energy showed america that Mexico is not a vulnerability for the U.S., but a unit valve and a maturation outlet. Agriculture reminded america that nutrient information is regional, seasonal and climate-dependent. Services commercialized revealed a quieter truth: the U.S. runs a surplus with Mexico successful the sectors that specify precocious economies — education, finance, digital, logistics and travel.

And the car manufacture made the lawsuit astir starkly of all. In a satellite of stagnant request and assertive Chinese competition, North America either competes unneurotic — oregon loses separately.

Seen arsenic a whole, the decision is hard to ignore. Mexico is not a broadside communicative to U.S. growth. It is not a short-term convenience. It is not a occupation to beryllium managed. Mexico is simply a strategical enabler of the United States’ competitiveness, resilience and semipermanent prosperity.

With each that said, this does not mean Mexico is without superior challenges — acold from it. Organized transgression is simply a existent and pressing problem. Mexico is besides the last halt for millions of migrants fleeing adjacent worse conditions farther south, a geographic world that tin beryllium seen either arsenic a load oregon arsenic a strategical plus for the United States.

My instrumentality is simple: this is not an contented to outsource oregon ignore, but 1 to address successful adjacent coordination. There are different challenges too, of course. But that leads america to the lone question that truly matters: what are we going to bash astir it?

Mexico is not going anywhere. The United States isn’t either. And whether we similar it oregon not, this concern is not optional — it’s structural. We are not conscionable neighbors; we are roommates. We unrecorded successful the aforesaid house. And if we’re going to stock it, we mightiness arsenic good enactment unneurotic to marque it the champion location connected the block.

Now, a mates of idiosyncratic closing notes.

Ten weeks ago, I opened this Substack simply to enactment my thoughts retired determination alternatively of keeping them to myself. Back then, rather literally, with zero readers. I’m wrapping up this tenth week with 100 subscribers and much than 2,500 readers. I genuinely privation to convey everyone who shared these texts, sent a benignant note, near a comment, oregon simply dropped a like. It means much than you know.

And finally, I’m penning this past portion from a infirmary room, looking astatine my three-day-old child. I deliberation it’s clip to intermission the penning for a spot and afloat bask this once-in-a-lifetime, out-of-this-world experience.

But don’t worry… I’ll beryllium back. Viva North America!