Wednesday, January 25, 2017
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's president is "considering" canceling next week's visit to Washington after President Donald Trump's order to begin construction of a wall between the two countries, a senior official said today.
The decision to rethink the visit comes amid growing outrage in Mexico, and a sense among many that President Enrique Pena Nieto has been too weak in the face of Trump's tough policy stance.
The official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press the administration "is considering" scrapping the Jan. 31 visit. "That's what I can tell you."
It was not clear when a final decision may be made.
Trump's order came the same day Mexico's foreign relations and economy secretaries arrived in Washington for talks with his administration, and its timing was seen by many in Mexico as a slap in the face.
Critics of Pena Nieto – whose approval ratings were just 12 percent in a recent survey, the lowest for any Mexican president in the polling era – have hammered him for his perceived weakness on Trump. Opposition politicians urged him Wednesday to call off the trip.