Welcome to today’s Morning Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Mexico, China’s reopening of its borders amidst a COVID-19 surge, and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters storming Congress.
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Biden Visits Mexico
Welcome to today’s Morning Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Mexico, China’s reopening of its borders amidst a COVID-19 surge, and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters storming Congress.
If you would like to receive Morning Brief in your inbox every weekday, please sign up here.
U.S. President Joe Biden is meeting his Mexican and Canadian counterparts, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Mexico on Monday, Jan. 9 and Tuesday, Jan. 10.
The three are expected to discuss the economy, security, and immigration.
Trade is likely to be one prominent subject of conversation. The United States and Canada have both filed for consultations, a step that comes before trade complaints, because López Obrador favors Mexico’s power company. Canada and the United States have said that favoring a domestic company over its Canadian and U.S. counterparts is a violation of USMCA, the trilateral trade agreement that was negotiated and came to replace NAFTA during the Trump administration.
Another subject for discussion—and another possible sticking point—will be immigration, and particularly immigration from and through Mexico and to the United States. The visit in Mexico follows Biden’s visit to the U.S.-Mexican border, and also comes as his administration expands expulsions under Title 42, part of the U.S. public health code invoked by the Trump administration to authorize the expulsion of migrants without allowing them to apply for asylum. The Biden administration’s plan also has increased opportunities for migrants to legally enter the country, though that pathway would be capped at 30,000 admissions per month.
The visit was also preceded by Mexican authorities arresting the son of the drug cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, whom U.S. officials suspect was involved in contributing to America’s deadly fentanyl crisis. Mexican authorities deny that the raid and arrest was timed for political purposes, or to signal to Washington that they are a partner in the fight against fentanyl.
Twenty-nine people were killed during the raid and arrest, and a Mexican City federal judge halted El Chapo’s extradition to the United States. Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said formalities of law prevented immediate extradition—perhaps another subject that will come up between Biden and his Mexican counterpart.
Monday, Jan. 9: French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as part of the latter’s tour marking Japan’s G-7 presidency.
Tuesday, Jan. 10: Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age, will meet with Tik Tok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
Wednesday, Jan. 11: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will take part in a U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee (2+2) meeting with their counterparts, Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi and Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada.
Thursday, Jan. 12: Human Rights Watch launches its 2023 global report.
Friday, Jan. 13: The Czech Republic holds presidential elections.
What We’re Following Today
Bolsonaristas storm Brazil’s Congress. Protesters stormed Brazil’s Congress in support of Former President Jair Bolsonaro, on Sunday, climbing on its roof, breaking windows, and assaulting journalists—including one from the Washington Post. The country’s presidential palace and supreme court were also stormed.
The incident, which was immediately…
Read More: Biden Visits Mexico To Talk Trade and Immigration