Actually, Enrique Peña Nieto wanted to end his six-year term comfortably. He remains in office for six weeks, and one of the least popular presidents in Mexico's history has long been out of public view.
But the onslaught of several thousand migrants from the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador forces him to work again. Because he has what it takes to expand into a serious crisis for Mexico. A migration crisis in the south is the latest since several hundred migrants on Friday with the courage of desperation overcame the porous border between Guatemala and Mexico. A diplomatic crisis with the unpopular neighbor USA in the north is just beginning to emerge. And President Peña Nieto seems listless and overwhelmed.
The pictures on the Guatemalan-Mexican border of exhausted and desperate men, of women with prams recall the refugee crisis in Europe. Even in Central America, makeshift barriers, shielded security forces and threats can not stop people.
Bizarrer appearance with secret addressee
The 4,000 migrants who left Honduras a week ago are ready to walk 3000 kilometers through three countries. You have nothing to lose. You have already lost everything. The triad of poverty, violence and lack of prospects in their countries drives hundreds of thousands of people to flee.
Annoyed Peña Nieto turned on Friday evening to his compatriots. At prime time, the TV channels interrupted the football broadcasts and telenovelas for a good three minutes. His country would not tolerate people gaining access "forcibly and without the necessary papers". "This is a completely new situation," said the head of state, stressing that the police have meanwhile re-established order at the border.
It was a bizarre performance, and many Mexicans wondered why their president told them all that. The message seemed more to the migrants. Or rather, the US, which has increased its pressure on its southern neighbor since Thursday.
Presumably, Peña Nieto's message was actually more of US President Donald Trump: "Look, I'll do something". Because until then, the outgoing head of state had looked rather impassive in view of the looming conflict and set just 250 federal police on the southern border in March, which should oppose the 4000 refugees.
It just seemed calm in the relationship between the US and Mexico has arrived. The North American Free Trade Agreement Nafta was reborn as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The governments of the three countries, the companies and investors are satisfied.
But now, with the 4000 migrants, the President in Washington is furious and raging that he will send the military to the border and close it to emergency if Mexico does not stop the Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans. Trump emphasized that migration was much more important to him than trade. After all, there will be elections in the US next month to re-assemble the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate.
They find something better than misery and death everywhere
The topic of Central American migrants is by no means new. For many years, people in the triangle of misery have been leaving their homelands in ever greater numbers. An average of 700 men and women daily in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador in the face of unemployment and violence of the youth gangs their bundle and make the dangerous and long way to the north. For something better than misery and death can be found everywhere.
The approximately 4,000 migrants of the current "caravan" thus just correspond to the contingent of a week. According to the US government alone last year, 225,000 people from Central America have entered the United States - mostly without the necessary papers. "It's not a caravan, it's an exodus," says analyst Diego Petersen Farah.
But the members are not as usual secretly and in small groups on the way. They left the town of San Pedro Sula open and demanding a week ago. And on the way, the group grew to the large number that it has now.
And these refugees are more angry than others. Because Trump calls the Central Americans as a threat to his country and puts them in the vicinity of criminals and drug dealers. They answer him with a clamorous phrase: "We migrants are not criminals, we are international workers".
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Rush on Mexico's border: "We will come in"Meanwhile, the Mexican security forces have secured the border, the migrants were on Saturday on the Guatemalan side out. Mexico insists that nobody is allowed to enter without valid papers. Whoever does it will be arrested. Anyone seeking asylum, however, could submit an application. Nevertheless, Mexico sent dozens of women and children to the country on Saturday.
US President Trump explicitly praised Mexico for its tough stance. The governments of Honduras and Guatemala are now considering sending Civil Defense officials to Mexico and setting up an airlift for those who want to return voluntarily.
Mexico's future head of state Andres Manuel López Obrador announced a turnaround in migration policy. The left-wing politician, who takes office on 1 December, will issue work visas to Central American migrants at the beginning of his mandate. He also discussed this with Trump, said López Obrador.
He also wants to convince the US president of a joint development fund of $ 30 billion for Central America, which should eliminate the causes of flight in the countries there. "Anyone who wants to emigrate should get a chance in Mexico," promised the future Mexican president.