Mexico's new Foreign Minister, Luis Videgaray, who resigned as Mexico's Finance Minister less than a week after Donald Trump's controversial visit to Mexico last year after it was widely reported that he had been the architect of the visit, admitted that several mistakes were made during that visit.
Although Videgaray said inviting the then republican presidential nominee to Mexico was the right decision, “we made several mistakes; things were too rushed.”
During an interview with Carlos Loret de Mola on the Mexican talk show Despierta, the minister said that if given the chance to go back in time, he would invite Donald Trump to Mexico all over again; “however, I'd do it in a different way. We made some major mistakes, but at the end of the day we had create a relationship with him.”
He said the purpose of the invitation to Los Pinos, the official residence and office of the President of Mexico, was to show him a more accurate depiction of Mexico.
Videgaray defended the visit saying that given the outcome of the U.S. elections, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto's administration was able to establish, months in advance, the foundation for a better future relationship with the incoming Trump administration.
The then Finance Minister said he decided to resign after the uproar Trump's visit to Mexico caused in the country.
When asked about the infamous wall Trump has repeatedly promised to build along the U.S.-Mexico border, the minister insisted that Mexico would not be paying for the wall. “There's no way that's ever going to happen,” he assured.
He also said Mexico would not be reimbursing the cost of the wall, despite Trump saying this on several occasions.
Videgaray continued by saying that he feels certain that Mexico will be able to reach an agreement after holding negotiations with Trump because that's what “he has done his entire life.”
“There are many matters between the U.S. and Mexico that we can negotiate and discuss, and that includes business relations. However, there are certain things that have been said that go against the dignity of our citizens and that go against our country's sovereignty. We won't make any compromises when it comes to those matters, and that includes the wall,” he said.
