Fraternity and Welfare Plan/North American Leaders Summit

Opening of the Mexico-US border. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced that the flow of non-essential activities between the US and Mexico has increased by 25 percent since the border was reopened on Nov. 8. In addition, Ebrard said that the respective consuls have received instructions to facilitate the recovery of commercial and tourist activities to hasten the economic reactivation between the two countries. "Activity has continued to grow very well. We expect non-essential activity to reach 60 percent this weekend."

In March 2020, due to the pandemic, former President Donald Trump restricted all non-essential travel through US border land ports. The restriction included tourist activities, shopping and visits to see family members. After a 20-month closure, Mexican and US authorities announced on Nov. 8 the reopening of the border for those who prove that they have completed the entire vaccination scheme. The reopening of the border seeks to reactivate the economy between the two countries, which was severely affected by the pandemic.

Meeting with US President and Canadian Prime Minister. Ebrard announced that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will meet with US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the ninth edition of the North American Leaders Summit. “It will be the first trilateral meeting in five years. The meeting is scheduled for Nov. 18 in Washington. For Mexico, the priorities are cooperation, development, Sowing Life and youth building the future programs, investment, how we prepare for the next pandemic and how we achieve a fairer economic recovery."

Since the beginning of his administration, Biden has held virtual meetings with López Obrador and Trudeau, with the aim of improving relations between the countries. The North American Leaders Summit seeks to further address the political tensions that exist between the countries, especially in the areas of energy, trade and immigration. This will be the first such meeting since 2017, which was when Trump assumed the presidency and expressed that he had no interest in continuing to meet with the leaders.

AMLO: The electricity reform will not be discussed in the meeting with Biden. López Obrador stressed that the electricity reform will not be discussed in his meeting with Biden the following week, unless the US authorities bring the issue to the meeting. “It is not on the agenda but, if it arises, we would explain what the reform consists of. What we want is that consumers no longer continue to be abused and that electricity prices do not rise. I promised that the prices of gasoline, diesel and electricity would not go up."

The controversial reform seeks to give CFE a 56 percent majority in the energy sector and aims to put a variety of competences steadfastly in the government’s hands, including the energy dispatch of CENACE and the right to mine lithium. Last week, MORENA and its allies postponed debates on the electricity reform until after a recall vote on President López Obrador’s mandate, which is planned for March 2022.

47 countries join AMLO's Fraternity and Welfare plan. Ebrard said that at least 47 countries and several organizations have shown their interest in joining López Obrador’s Fraternity and Welfare plan proposed in the UN Security Council. “In this session of the Council, the president proposed a plan for Fraternity and Welfare in the world. There has been a great response since the first hours of its pronouncement. Many organizations and countries are contacting our delegation to participate in the plan.”

The Fraternity and Welfare plan proposes a better quality of life to the 750 million people who live with or less than US$2 a day through an annual voluntary contribution of 4 percent of the fortunes of the 1.000 richest people on the planet and 1,000 largest corporations. In addition, it proposes the contribution of 0.2 percent of GDP among the G20 member countries.