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Mexico & Nafta - November 2015 (ISSN 1741-444X)

Restoring ties with Cuba

Mexico's newly appointed foreign minister, Claudia Ruiz Massieu [RM-15-08], went to Cuba on 19 October for her first official trip abroad. Upon taking office in December 2012 at the helm of the traditional Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), one of President Enrique Peña Nieto's declared foreign policy objectives was to restore Mexico’s historically close relationship with Cuba. Ties had deteriorated dramatically in the two preceding administrations (2000-2012) led by the conservative Partido Acción Nacional (PAN).

During her one-day visit, Ruiz met with her Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodríguez, and Cuba’s first vice-president, Miguel Díaz-Canel. According to a statement by the Mexican foreign ministry (SRE), Ruiz and her Cuban hosts discussed the strengthening of “historical ties between the two countries”. The talks covered areas including bilateral trade, technical and scientific cooperation, cultural affairs and the promotion of Mexican investments in Cuba. They also discussed the process of updating the Cuban economic model and the renewed interest of Mexican companies in participating in the business opportunities on the island.

The SRE noted that nine Mexican investment proposals had been submitted for Cuba’s new Special Economic Development Zone of Mariel (ZEDM), located at the revamped deepwater port of Mariel, 40kms west of Havana. In February the Cuban government gave one of these approval (Richmeat, a food processing company), followed by another in June (paint manufacturer Devox General Paint).

Mexico is Cuba’s sixth largest trade partner. Bilateral trade is worth about US$500m a year, with the balance favouring Mexico. In 2013, the Peña Nieto government wrote off 70% of Cuba’s outstanding debt with Mexico and re-profiled the rest on favourable conditions. Much like their US counterparts, Mexican businesses are interested in securing market access to Cuba (pop 11m) as the government led by President Raúl Castro gradually opens up the state-run economy to private and foreign participation.

In exchange for such access, Mexico has offered political support for Cuba’s rapprochement with the US and appears willing to come out more strongly in support of Cuba’s calls for the removal of the US economic embargo on Cuba, now a half-century old. On 20 October, after Ruiz’s visit, the Mexican federal senate took the unusual step of issuing a “respectful” call on its US counterpart on Capitol Hill to lift the embargo, and called on the Peña Nieto government to launch an international campaign in support of this. In a statement, the senate urged the federal government to “deploy all convenient diplomatic actions to convince the international community….to demand the immediate removal of the embargo”. As per its usual stance, Mexico on 27 October voted in favour of the United Nations’ annual resolution demanding an end to the embargo.

  • Castro visit confirmed

The SRE also said that President Raúl Castro will conduct a brief official visit to Mexico before year-end, most likely in November. This will be the first visit by a Cuban head of state to Mexico since former president Fidel Castro attended the Special Summit of the Americas held in Monterrey, Nuevo León on 12-13 January 2004.

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