Obama and Calderon talk drug war, economy

When President-elect Barack Obama and Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon met today in Washington, the subject matter was as hot as the tortilla-soup they ate for lunch. Mexico is in the midst of a heated drug war that threatens to rip the country apart. The United States sends extensive aid to its southern neighbor to help out. But as the Council on Foreign Relations’ Shannon O’Neil points out for FP‘s The Argument, the United States also supplies the demand for drugs, the money to pay from them, and the weapons that ratchets up the violence.

Then, there is immigration, where more than one politician has gotten burned. President Bush was among them, and even mentioned immigration in his nostalgic press conference today. Bush’s proposal was beaten down brutally in Congress, before it died a quiet and unlamented death. NAFTA was also rumored to be on the table, too, with Calderon pressing Obama not to review the trade agreement, as the president-elect had promised on the campaign trail.

Both men left praising the others’ efforts, and vowing closer cooperation. Both countries are economy focused, and now is no time for spats on trade. Mexico’s economic growth is forecast to shrink from 2 percent to 1.8 percent, driven largely be the shrinking demand for Mexican products on Obama’s side of the border.

Next up for Calderon: meeting with U.S. Congressional leaders and with World Bank President Robert Zoellick. Next up for Obama: proving his partnership with Mexico will last past lunch.

Photo: Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images