Dr. Jorge A. Schiavon
Universidad Iberoamericana and EBU Foreign Policy of Mexico, COMEXI
jorge.schiavon@ibero.mx
In order for Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration to be able to execute an effective foreign policy to address major international challenges, as well as to maximize Mexico’s presence, prestige, and impact in the world, it needs to build a State foreign policy. The central objective of this is to promote the security, development, and well-being of Mexico and Mexicans. To do so, it requires a strong Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) with sufficient institutional capacities, as well as an effective and highly professionalized Mexican Foreign Service (SEM).
In recent years, Mexico has not had a foreign policy that operates with a strategic vision, nor with the institutional, budgetary and inter-institutional coordination framework and capabilities to foresee and respond accordingly. On the contrary, foreign policy is far from having the high priority that it should within government action, it is poorly coordinated between the relevant actors in the matter and, even further, from being a State policy that has the support of sectors that are key in national life.
This has been the reality for decades. For example, the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has always been very low, between 0.3 and 0.4% of the Federal Expenditure Budget. However, in recent years, this adverse and costly phenomenon for the country has become noticeably more pronounced. It seems that this has responded to a narrow vision of the rulers regarding the nature, scope and potential that foreign policy has to contribute to the defense and promotion of the national interest and, with it, to the economic and social progress and well-being of Mexicans.
For the Sheinbaum administration to have a truly effective foreign policy that restores the country’s international prestige, it will have to rebuild the institutional framework and the conditions so that the SRE has the political and institutional conditions that are necessary to meet its objectives.
To this end, it is essential that, at the very least, the following proposals be addressed in the institutional reconstruction of the Foreign Ministry: First, all of its powers must be clearly defined legally in the Organic Law of the Federal Public Administration (LOAPF), including the new responsibilities for international economic and tourism promotion. Second, it is necessary that it fully fulfill its function established in the LOAPF of coordinating all the actions of the relevant government institutions and actors in matters of foreign policy.
Third, it must receive a budget commensurate with its importance and responsibilities, which must recover the almost 25% lost in real dollar terms during the last decade and be updated, at least, according to inflation. Fourth, it is essential that it have sufficient professional staff to fully fulfill its functions, increasing the number of SEM positions (which have remained between 1,200 and 1,300 for almost 50 years), as well as increasing the number of operational staff positions (which have been reduced by more than 20% in the last decade).
Fifth, it is advisable to expand Mexico’s representations abroad to have a diplomatic and consular network in line with the country’s size, being among the 15 most important in the world. Sixth, it must define the criteria and processes to generate a foreign policy of State and an international image with broad global recognition. Seventh, it is necessary to have the mechanisms and instruments for an efficient formulation and effective execution of that policy, including a system of information and strategic intelligence planning that supports prospective analysis and, with it, the prediction of the changes that will occur on the world stage.
Eighth, it is essential to establish the criteria to ensure proper coordination between the SRE and the other State secretariats, as well as productive collaboration with Congress. Finally, it is essential to build the machinery that will foster within Mexican society a better understanding of the role of foreign policy and its support for it.
In short, it is in the Sheinbaum administration’s interest to rebuild the SRE’s institutional capabilities in order to execute a State foreign policy. Through it, it will be able to face the great global challenges and, at the same time, advance the interests of Mexico and Mexicans worldwide, to promote greater security, development and well-being for the country and its inhabitants.