The Mexican presidential election is underway and current President Enrique Pena Nieto can’t succeed himself, and probably couldn’t anyway as he’s not very popular and his own political party’s candidate is running a distant third in election polls.

But thanks to Donald Trump, the Mexican president recently had a gust of wind in his sails and received high marks even from political opponents.

Why? Because Pena Nieto has come out swinging, with a spirited, public defense of Mexico, its sovereignty and its honor, against the evil President Trump who has attacked Mexico.

So when did Trump attack Mexico, you might ask?

Trump attacked Mexico by commenting on the recent mostly-Honduran caravan passing through Mexico, his (contradictory) comments about Mexican immigration policy, and his call to put troops on the border.

South of the border that is considered an attack on Mexico.

Apparently, President Enrique Pena Nieto and his advisors though it would be an opportune time for the presidente to make a public statement against Trump. In reality, the message was directed not to Trump (who may not even know about it) but to the Mexican public.

Click here to view Pena Nieto’s short speech. Here is the text in the original Spanish, and you can click here for the Mexican government’s official English translation. I looked at both.

The speech and the reaction to it show us the perspective of the Mexican government and what we can expect of it, regardless of who wins this July’s election.

One of the things Pena Nieto discussed was Mexicans north of the border.

And, of course, we have defended, on a daily basis, the rights of Mexicans in the United States, always respecting its laws.

“Always respecting its laws”. That’s a good one.

For years, the Mexican government has been meddling in our immigration system, enabling illegal immigration. The Mexican government is working to extend its authority as a state within a state, to maintain the allegiance of stateside Mexicans and even win the allegiance of Mexican-Americans.

On the flip side, our politicians have allowed and even enabled this. They just don’t seem concerned.

Back to the Pena Nieto speech:

The bilateral relationship entails enormous opportunities that should benefit both nations. It is an intense and dynamic relationship, which understandably also poses challenges. Nevertheless, these will never justify threatening or disrespectful attitudes between our countries.

Thus the Mexican President condemns Trump’s recent comments regarding the caravan, which led to his call to put the National Guard on the border.

Mexicans have gotten so accustomed to our lax border policies that they think it’s their unalienable right to migrate northward.

Pena Nieto makes a pitch for Mexican unity, explaining that “As Mexicans, we may disagree among ourselves, especially during election periods, but we will always be united when it comes to defending our country’s dignity and sovereignty.”

Translation: Mexicans of the chattering classes are united when it comes to disrespecting American sovereignty.

The Mexican president went on to draw in other streams of the Mexican elite, to this grand unity of Trump-bashing.

1. The Mexican Senate, which “unanimously condemned the offensive and unfounded statements concerning Mexicans and demanded the respectful treatment that befits a relationship between countries that are neighbors, partners and allies.”
2. Presidential Candidates: “The candidates currently running for the Mexican presidency have added their voices to the Senate’s resolution. Despite their understandable differences, they all agreed on rejecting all measures that run contrary to those that befit good neighbors.”

So President Pena Nieto quotes four presidential candidates:

1. Ricardo Anaya, standard-bearer of the Por México al Frente (For Mexico to the Front) coalition, who proclaimed that “this is a moment of national unity, not a campaign issue. It is a country issue”.
2. Front- runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) of the Juntos haremos historia (Together we will make History) coalition, who said that “we need a relationship based on friendship and cooperation for development, no to the use of force, not walls, not betting on bad relations among neighbors” [the “betting” expression apparently referring to expecting bad relations and enacting policies based upon such an expectation].
3. Jose Antonio Meade of the Todos por México (Everybody for Mexico) coalition declared that “this is a time for all of us to come together in the defense of the nation’s sovereignty and dignity”.
4. Margarita Zavala, independent candidate, who stated that “when it comes to defending national dignity, we all speak with one voice and demand respect”.

The Mexican President wrapped up that segment by proclaiming that, “As President of all Mexicans, I agree with those remarks.”

It was an astute strategy, to quote all the major political forces of the country, to speak for all of them on behalf of Mexico and against Trump!

Pena Nieto ended his speech with this final statement:

Something that brings together and unites absolutely all Mexicans is our certainty that nothing and no one stands above the dignity of Mexico.

The Mexican president’s speech was a rousing success.

It even won the approval of the four candidates quoted in the speech. Meade, Lopez Obrador, Zavala and Anaya all expressed approval of the president’s speech. It’s a rarity to get these four to agree, but on this topic they did. Candidatos respaldan respuesta de Peña Nieto a Trump [“Candidates Back Pena Nieto’s Response to Trump”], Excelsior (from Notimex), April 5, 2018.

Not only that, but Candidate Ricardo Anaya of the PAN, considered the conservative party, went farther than any other candidate by calling for a cutoff in cooperation with the United States. As reported on Excelsior:

Concerning the topic of emigration and militarization of the northern border [that is, the U.S.-Mexican border], the presidential candidate….Ricardo Anaya said that if the United States accuses Mexico of only making speeches and not taking action, it [the U.S.] will not cease the attacks nor the hostility.

Pide Anaya suspender cooperación con EU, mientras Trump sea hostil [“Anaya Calls For Suspension of Cooperation with the United States, While Trump Remains Hostile”], Fernando Perez, Excelsior, April 7, 2018.

Remember that Anaya belongs to the PAN, the party we’ve been told for years is “pro-American”.

Consider that Anaya is calling for a suspension of cooperation with the United States. That’s farther than left-wing candidate Lopez Obrador (AMLO), considered by many a far-left demagogue, has ever gone.

Anaya said that “Now we should take action, and that means suspending cooperation, while the United States position remains hostile”.

By “hostile” Anaya means defending our border and our sovereignty.

The response to Trump’s rhetoric and “militarization of the border” just shows us that the Mexican political elite is not going to help us secure the border, and it’s ridiculous to think that they will.

But here’s the good news – we don’t need Mexico’s help to secure the border. It’s our side of the border and we need to secure it. And we can secure it.

And the incessant squawking from south of the border, aside from its entertainment value, is a good indication that Trump is on the right track. Otherwise, why would they be so hysterical about it?