Biden, López Obrador and Trudeau show their unity at the North American Leaders' Summit: "We are true partners"

The flags of Mexico, the United States and Canada enveloped the imposing courtyard of the Palacio Nacional, the presidential residence. It was there that the heads of government of these three countries appeared on Tuesday afternoon to take stock of the North American Leaders' Summit (NALS), popularly known as the Three Amigos summit, which took place this week in Mexico City, a megacity with more than 22 million inhabitants. 

The headquarters of Mexico's executive branch hosted the tenth edition of a trilateral forum that was launched in 2005 with the aim of intertwining their economies and making the region a global trading power. 

No major announcements were made, but neither were they expected. US President Joe Biden landed at Mexico's newly opened Felipe Angeles airport on Sunday, becoming the first White House occupant to visit the neighbouring country in nearly a decade, to "boost North America's economic competitiveness and promote inclusive growth and prosperity". "The three countries will deepen our economic cooperation, promote investment, and strengthen competitiveness, innovation, and resilience," the Biden administration said in a lengthy statement.

Biden himself, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held an intense three-way diplomatic session accompanied by their respective teams to tackle the six dossiers on the table: diversity, equity and inclusion; climate change and the environment; competitiveness; migration and development; health and security. 

In reality, the thematic axis that formed the backbone of the conversation was based on four points: trade relations, the migration crisis, the threat of drug trafficking and regional instability. 

Before the three leaders met at the National Palace, a group of human rights protesters organised a rally in the vicinity of Mexico City's historic centre, in the Zócalo, where La Bestia, the wheeled bunker that transports the US president, passed through. They protested immigration laws put in place under his administration and demanded the exoneration of Australian activist Julian Assange, detained in the UK, who is facing an indictment on espionage charges - among others - in the US for his WikiLeaks leaks. López Obrador offered the hacker asylum in 2021 and last year said he would negotiate with Biden to end his prosecution.

The press conference of the three leaders in the courtyard of the National Palace left a trail of headlines, despite the fact that the trilateral meeting, held behind closed doors, did not reach any major agreements. There was little progress to announce, but López Obrador's ability to extend each response delayed the appearance. 

The Mexican leader, who has placed a significant dose of optimism in the Biden Administration, began by thanking the Democrat for being "the first president of the United States in a long time who has not built a single metre of the wall".  

AMLO, as he is known, asked Biden to mediate with the House of Representatives to regularise the situation of the approximately 11 million Mexicans residing illegally in the United States. Congress is not exactly at its best after the radical wing of the Republican Party blocked its own party's candidate for Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy. To date, no Mexican president has managed to do so, and it will be difficult for López Obrador to win that medal.

That did not exempt him from defending other achievements of his term in office. According to the president, fewer Mexicans are leaving the country. He did not provide any corroborating data, but based his words on the social benefits offered by his government. The reality is that, despite the reduction in these numbers at the Mexican level, migration levels are breaking records. Tens of thousands of people pour over the US border every year in search of a better life. 

"There can no longer be any doubt, none, in today's interconnected world," Biden remarked in contrast to his predecessor, Donald Trump. "We cannot wall ourselves off from shared problems."

The US president, who described Mexico as a "true partner", thanked López Obrador for Mexico's reception of migrants who, from now on, cross the US border without the corresponding legal authorisation. Washington plans to receive 30,000 migrants a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. In exchange, Mexico will take charge of those who do not follow the administrative channels. 

Justin Trudeau was the third in discord to intervene. The Canadian premier, who had taken advantage of Tuesday to meet with Mexican business leaders and investors in Canada, made reference to the convulsive situation in Haiti, but insisted precisely on regional economic cooperation in a context in which the North American Free Trade Agreement, which unites their economies, is under strain due to López Obrador's protectionist measures in the energy sector, which have given advantages to state-owned companies - the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and the oil and gas company Pemex - ahead of private companies of Canadian and US origin.

Biden left Mexico on Tuesday night after discussing with his Mexican counterpart the migration crisis, the fentanyl plague and the effects of climate change, which affect both sides of the Rio Grande equally, and intervening in the three-way meeting. 

But the summit formally ends on Wednesday with the face-to-face meeting between López Obrador and Trudeau. The Canadian Prime Minister also had a chance to talk with Biden on Tuesday. "They discussed opportunities to strengthen supply chains for raw materials, electric vehicles and semiconductors," the White House said.

The two concluded a deal for the purchase and sale of the NASAM advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine. "Canada stands in solidarity with the Ukrainians in their heroic fight against Russia's illegal and unjustifiable invasion. Today we are moving forward with the first Canadian donation of air defence systems to Ukraine," Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand said in an interview on CNN. Earlier this week, Ottawa also purchased a fleet of 88 F-35 fighters, made by US contractor Lockheed Martin. Almost in return, Biden promised Trudeau to visit Canada in March.

Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra