Farewell meeting or simple courtesy
Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco sat down with Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma to review the endless list of pending issues between Mexico and the United States. The date? Just when President Sheinbaum confirmed that the replacement is already underway: Roberto Lazzeri Montaño will occupy the chair in Washington.
“We reviewed different topics on the broad agenda between both countries,” Velasco wrote on social media.
Of course, because there’s nothing like a formal meeting when you know that your interlocutor is packing his bags. Moctezuma, according to the chancellor, “has performed an outstanding job.” Translation: thank you for your services, now leave with dignity.
Timing is everything
The meeting occurs just as the diplomatic transition becomes official. Sheinbaum has already released Lazzeri’s name, but the Senate has not yet given its approval. Meanwhile, Moctezuma remains an ambassador… technically.
The interesting thing is what was not said: what about the thorny issues? Immigration, tariffs, border security. None of that appeared in the official statement. Only vagueness about “close coordination” and “strategic issues.”
Selective memory
Let us remember that just a few months ago, Moctezuma was defending Mexico’s position tooth and nail in the face of Trump’s tariff threats. Now he’s getting pats on the back as they prepare to leave. Diplomacy has these moments of surgical irony.
The truth is that until there is a replacement confirmed by the Senate, this meeting is more of a political gesture than a substantial work meeting. But hey, at least the photos look pretty for the archive.
