En tu idioma/In your own lenguage

Eduardo Del Buey
Foto: Notimex
La Jornada Maya

Martes 19 de julio, 2016

To counter the anti-NAFTA rhetoric of some US presidential candidates this year and the anti-Mexico rhetoric of Donald Trump, Mexico has decided to expand its public diplomacy and create new and effective coalitions with key US constituencies.

On July 2nd, Nahal Toosi reported in POLITICO that “attacked by Trump, Mexicans look to Jewish groups for help”. Mexicans are finding inspiration in how American Jewry has organized itself into an effective lobby group with influence far beyond their numbers. The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is, according to Toosi, “a key partner in the Mexican diaspora’s surging interest in political activism”.

Jewish groups such as the AJC and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPEC) can help mentor Mexican-American leaders to motivate their audiences to vote, and shape their political thinking to develop into an effective lobby.

According to Dina Siegel Vann, the Mexican American Director of the AJC´s Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs, “the Jewish community offers a model that, among other things, emphasizes the importance of coalition building”.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu addressed the AJC’s Global Forum in June, saying that Mexico is ready to take its relationship with the AJC “to the next level”.

In March of this year, a group of business leaders set up the American Mexico Public Affairs Committee to lobby lawmakers and educate U.S. voters about the two countries’ relationship. The group is modeling itself after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC — “That’s even the reason why we named it the way it’s named,” said Antonio Maldonado, AMxPAC’s president.

Messages must focus on the benefits of trade for the average American. By translating billions of dollars in cross-border trade into thousands or tens of thousands of jobs in each state, the message will hit home with Americans concerned about getting and keeping jobs. While Trump´s campaign argues that NAFTA has resulted in millions of US manufacturing jobs going south, an effective campaign based on facts can underscore that NAFTA has also created and sustains jobs at home, making an impact on individual lives.

Mexico also has a wealth of cultural tools to use in its campaigns that constitute an impressive outreach tool. Its three thousand year history speaks eloquently about the country and its people. Mexican-American culture is an entity of its own, shaped by a diaspora bringing the best of Mexico and melding it with its new home. There are many academics that specialize in Mexican issues and can speak on behalf of the Mexican government in ways diplomats can’t.

Mexico´s fifty Consulates can ensure that coalitions are created to share messages with opinion makers at local and state levels, putting pressure on Members of Congress from their home constituencies.

Former US Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil once said that, “all politics is local”.

By working both locally and in Washington, Mexico can reach all levels of US society strategically and pursue its objectives in the United States effectively, complementing its official diplomacy with wide ranging public diplomacy, impacting on both political leaders as well as voters.

Public diplomacy (the effective use of cultural and academic tools to create coalitions and influence opinion makers) can and does play an important role in achieving foreign policy objectives. US and Mexican academics and artists can share with local populations their vision of Mexico, creating a positive image.

[b]Creativity sells[/b]

Middle powers like Mexico require strong public diplomacy programs to reach foreign audiences in ways they can understand and to which they can relate. What Joseph Nye has labeled “soft-power” is in fact the new hard power if used effectively and strategically.

That is the strength of public diplomacy, and the benefits can be meaningful and impactful.