Late last month, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico announced a “pause” in relations with the U.S. embassy. These latest tensions between the two countries came after U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar criticized López Obrador’s proposed judicial reforms, which include electing judges by popular vote. Salazar called this measure “a major risk to the functioning of Mexico’s democracy.”

When Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, López Obrador’s protégé, takes office on Oct. 1, she will inherit the strained relationship with the U.S. and a host of other challenges facing Mexico. Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute Center for the U.S. and Mexico, joined Baker Briefing to discuss the issues setting the backdrop for the new Sheinbaum administration and how she may — or may not — diverge from López Obrador’s playbook.

For more on the key policy issues facing Mexico, including its relations with the U.S., read “Mexico Country Outlook 2024,” this year’s edition of the flagship report by the Center for the U.S. and Mexico.

Discussants

Tony Payan, Ph.D. Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies and Director, Center for the U.S. and Mexico, Baker Institute

The Honorable David M. Satterfield  Director, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy; Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy