Cohabiting in the Security Council: The War on Iraq and its Bearing on Relations between Mexico and the United States

This article analyses the Mexico-United States bilateral relation in the Security Council of the United Nations (2002-2003), inserting it within the wider context of the bilateral relation. It explains how Mexico has changed, due to the democratic and economic transitions in the country, from an isolationist, legalist, and reactive foreign policy to a more participative, pragmatic, and proactive one, while the United States has changed, because of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, from a foreign policy of benign hegemony to one of hegemonic preponderance, which has hardened its position within the multilateral international organizations. Based on it, the paper argues that this combination will lead to diplomatic clashes between the two countries in the Security Council, especially regarding the war against Iraq. However, this will only have minor consequences in the management of the bilateral agenda due to the strategic importance in terms of security of Mexico for the United States and the deep and increasing interdependence between the two countries.