Daily News Brief

July 12, 2022

Top of the Agenda

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador meets with (WaPo) U.S. President Joe Biden today to discuss cooperation on issues including migration, energy, and drug policy. The leaders are expected to announce (AP) measures to boost border security and prevent fentanyl smuggling. The meeting comes after López Obrador boycotted last month’s U.S.-hosted Summit of the Americas over the exclusions of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Ahead of the meeting, López Obrador urged Biden to issue more temporary work permits for Mexicans and Central Americans. López Obrador’s government has cooperated with U.S. requests to block migrants traveling north, detaining twice as many people in the first third of 2022 than in the same period last year. 

Analysis

“[Increasing work visas] would seem to be a way to resolve the labor shortage we have in this country, and also reduce some of the pressure on Mexico and Central America,” the Wilson Center’s Andrew I. Rudman tells the Associated Press.

 
“By reasserting state control over Mexico’s natural resources, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is once again slowing the nation’s economic recovery and its potential for longer-term growth. As sad and predictable as his actions may be, however, their damage will extend beyond Mexico’s borders, affecting the North American continent’s ability to shorten and strengthen its supply chains, address the damaging effects of climate change and regulate migration,” CFR’s Shannon K. O’Neil writes. 

This timeline traces U.S.-Mexico relations.

Pacific Rim

Kiribati withdrew from the Pacific Islands Forum (Japan Times) on the eve of the summit in Fiji, saying that the concerns of Micronesian states were overlooked. The official focus of this year’s summit is climate action.

China: Authorities in Henan Province promised to repay customers (BBC) who were unable to withdraw money from local banks when the funds were apparently frozen during updates to the banks’ internal systems. Protests over the frozen funds turned violent over the weekend.

South and Central Asia

The UN population report released yesterday also says the world population will reach eight billion people (Indian Express) by November 15, 2022.

Sri Lanka: A petition filed in the Supreme Court seeks to block top officials (Daily Mirror) from fleeing the country amid its economic and political crises.

Middle East and North Africa

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tehran plans to send several hundred drones (Politico) to Moscow this month.

Syria: The UN Security Council agreed to extend cross-border humanitarian aid deliveries (AFP) to Syria by six months. Western nations originally sought a yearlong extension, but Russia vetoed it.

Sub-Saharan Africa

The forty-nine arrested soldiers arrived in Mali (AP) to work for a company contracted by the UN mission there. Malian authorities called them mercenaries.

Ghana: The country postponed a budgetary review (Bloomberg) amid talks with the International Monetary Fund on a bailout package.

Europe

Russian officials said at least seven people were killed (Moscow Times) in the attack in Ukraine’s Kherson region.

For Foreign Affairs, Dan Altman writes that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) can do more to support Ukraine without provoking Russia.

Spain: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spain will impose temporary taxes (Reuters) on power companies and financial firms in 2023 and 2024 to bring down inflation.

Americas

The United States extended temporary protections (Politico) to the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who entered the country before March 2021. 

This Backgrounder explains temporary protected status.

United States

The Department of Health and Human Services said hospitals are required to perform the procedure (WSJ) when it is necessary to stabilize an emergency health situation, even in states that ban abortion.

CFR’s Women and Foreign Policy program compares abortion laws around the world.

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