Unequal Partners: The United States and Mexico | Simon Chair Archive | CSIS (2024)
There are other determinants of national attitudes between Mexico and the United States, but historically, dependency/dominance has been a significant influence in the bilateral relationship among these nations.
The importance of each country to the other is not symmetrical; consequently, their responses to each other’s policies have varied substantively and in intensity. The substance of Mexican public policy and the behavior of individual Mexicans have been powerfully shaped during the past 150 years by the country’s political-economic dependence on the United States. U.S. public policy and the behavior of individual Americans also have been shaped by U.S. dominance over Mexico.
Mexico has had to endure many humiliations from the United States: the loss of about half its territory under the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848 following its defeat in the Mexican-American War; the interference of the U.S. ambassador in the overthrow of Francisco Madero in 1913 following the Mexican Revolution in 1910 (what is known in Mexico as the Pacto de la Embajada (referring to the U.S. embassy); and the incursions into Mexico during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson.
Both countries would benefit if this pattern of economic, social, and political asymmetries could be reduced and eventually eliminated. In the interim, making the adverse consequences of dependency/dominance more transparent may have a positive policy effect, because it would make clear how thoroughly this phenomenon affects the behavior of the governments and people of the two countries.
The immediate cause of the Mexican-American War was a disputed boundary between the United States and Texas on the Nueces Strip. Mexico did not recognize Texas as legitimate American territory and Texas admission to the United States antagonized Mexican officials and citizens.
By virtue of shared geography, history, and deep cultural and people-to-people ties, Mexico remains one of the United States' closest and most valued partners. The countries share a 2,000-mile border with 47 active land ports of entry.
In his 1885 memoirs, former U.S. President Ulysses Grant (himself a veteran of the Mexican war) attributed Mexico's defeat to the poor quality of their army, writing: "The Mexican army of that day was hardly an organization.
In exchange for peace, Mexico ceded nearly 950,000 square miles – almost half of its territory – to the United States. The U.S. also paid Mexico $15 million to compensate for damages to land and property caused by the war.
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