When asked whether there was a "scenario" under which Mexico would pay for construction of the wall, Mexican President Pena Nieto was clear. "There is no scenario. I have to say that I regret (the plan), and of course, I can't agree with this American politician's position."
A signature policy proposal by Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign has been the construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border to keep out illegal immigrants. The candidate also insists that Mexico pay for it.
"They say you'll never be able to build a wall," Trump said on March 2. "Well, it's 2,000 miles but we really need 1,000 miles. The Great Wall of China, built 2,000 years ago, is 13,000 miles, folks, and they didn't have Caterpillar tractors, because I only want to use Caterpillar, if you want to know the truth, or John Deere…"
Trump's declaration sparked outrage in Mexico, with former Mexican President Vicente Fox resorting to a curse in his categorical response: "I won't pay for that f***** wall." The Mexican government initially ignored the statement, with Francisco Guzmán, a representative of President Nieto's office saying that the government is not going to involve itself in the US presidential debate. However, President Nieto couldn't help but react, accusing Trump of populism. According to Nieto, Trump puts forward "very easy, simple solutions to problems that are obviously not that easy to solve."
"That's how Mussolini got in, that's how Hitler got in, they took advantage of a situation, a problem perhaps, which humanity was going through at the time, after an economic crisis," Nieto said. "We don't want that happening anywhere in the world."
Despite indignation with Trump's "ignorant and racist" statements, the official position of Mexican government remains that the administration will seek to reach agreement and maintain a respectful relationship with whoever wins the U.S. presidency.
"The US-Mexico relationship requires more bridges and fewer walls. The isolationist solution is not a solution at all," Guzmán said.
