Denise Dresser

“While the United States is closing doors, Canada is opening them. While U.S. President Donald Trump is slouching toward authoritarianism, Canada is safeguarding democracy.”

“The Chapultepec Accord is a pact among concessionaires to protect concessions.”

“In Mexico, the perception of power is power.”

“The U.S.-Mexico border has often been described as an open wound. NAFTA was expected to heal it, albeit through a long, slow, and imperfect scarring process, by creating a basic framework for cooperation between the two countries.”

“Mexico isn't a country of routine debates among presidential candidates.”

“Government after government has prioritized the preservation of corporatist loyalties over the promotion of economic growth and emphasized clientelist distribution over entrepreneurial innovation and creation of level economic playing field.”

“I tweet 20 times a day, not only about Mexican politics, but about film, books, restaurants, U.S. politics.”

“Vicente Fox beat the PRI by gambling on a simple formula: Marketing + Money = Presidency.”

“Spoiling my ballot paper is the only way I can see of stripping the system of legitimacy, shaking it up, and reforming it so that it favours citizens.”

“Pena Nieto is a product of the two television networks that groomed him for power and then propelled him to the presidency.”

“It would be a mistake to view Camacho as the beacon of democracy in Mexico. He has played by the PRI's rules for more than 15 years. As mayor of Mexico City, he was recognized as a political broker, not as an apostle of substantive political reform.”