The European Union as an Option for Diversification. A Critical Overview

This article provides a critical view of the relations between Mexico and the European Union (EU). It is divided into two main sections. The first underlines the fact that Mexico and the EU grant each other a different relative importance. The role of the EU in Mexico’s international relations is analyzed, as is that of Mexico in the EU’s relations; the low priority which Latin America had traditionally held for the European Nations, and the political importance which it acquired throughout the Eighties, for which Mexico provided most of the impetus, are also examined. The second section analyzes the political and economic relations which today prevail between Mexico and the EU. It emphasizes the relative stagnation which characterizes political relations, and underlines the fact that Mexico is the only Latin American Nation that lacks a preferential relationship with the EU. It also compares Mexican strategies for approaching the EU with those implemented by other Nations, and concludes by considering the convenience that a more political vision night have for Mexico in the quest for new accords with the EU. It is also pointed out that in Europe, it is politics which determine economic relations, rather than the other way round.