U.S.-MEXICO FUTURES FORUM: Missed Connections

Rafael Fernández de Castro, the former foreign policy advisor to Mexican president Felipe Calderón, describes the dynamics of the U.S.–Mexico diplomatic relationship.

President Barack Obama inherited a financial calamity. Mexican President Felipe Calderón assumed leadership of a country in the grip of organized crime. With both leaders mired in their respective conflicts, visions of a collaborative U.S.–Mexico policy have fallen by the wayside. Yet, under different circumstances, the two presidents might have taken U.S.–Mexico relations to an unprecedented level, benefitting both countries, argued Calderón’s former foreign policy advisor, Rafael Fernández de Castro.