This September 11, the United States Ambassador to Mexico, Jeffrey Davidow, had recently arrived for breakfast at the home of a businessman Mexican. He was worried, because in the morning news he had heard that in New York, 4 thousand miles away, a plane had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. A spectacular tragedy, but so far, just that: accidental.
“I thought at the time it was this, an accident”, He says almost 20 years away.
But then came the horror. As he sat at the table with the businessman, Davidow watched on breakfast TV the moment the second plane (United Airlines 175) hit the South Tower. It was 9:00 in the morning with three minutes and he almost immediately ordered his security team take him at full speed to the U.S. embassy in Mexico.
On the way to the embassy’s armored van, “it became clear to me that we were under attack and my concern was what else was going to happen,” he explains to MILLENNIUM. “I wasn’t worried that something might happen in Mexico, but like everyone else, I think I was in a state of shock and I had no idea in my mind what was going on. What was clear was that it was a terrorist attack. “
Nearing the twentieth anniversary of the most spectacular terrorist attack in history, Davidow admits that this September 11 it changed forever the relationship between Mexico and the United States.
It left Mexico off George W. Bush’s radar, while the hesitations of then-President Vicente Fox, and Chancellor Jorge Castañeda’s statements did not pay off. Specifically, the diplomat relates to the withdrawal, the feeling remained that the Mexican government did not want to support Washington in its hour of most need.
“It was a historic opportunity missed,” reflects the author of “The Bear and the Porcupine.”
P: What goes through your mind when you arrive at the embassy, shortly after the second plane crashes into the World Trade Center?
A: When I arrived, I spoke to the press in front of me. And he also had a very big meeting inside the embassy with the employees. My message was that it was time to be strong and we had to keep doing our job. I told the employees that if they wanted to go home they could go home, because many were frightened. I don’t remember what I told the press.
P: He said it was an act of barbarism.
A: Ah. I didn’t remember that.
P: How did it feel inside the embassy?
A: People were very nervous, very worried. We immediately saw that we had hundreds of Mexicans waiting their visa interviews, so we close the consulate and drive everyone home. And when I talked to my people I told them we were in a very difficult situation. We felt very shaken.
P: When do you find out that the third plane hits the Pentagon?
A: I found out at the same time as everyone else because I was watching TV.
P: In the midst of this storm, did he need any personal moment to recompose in the face of the magnitude of what was happening?
A: What I do know is that in terms of my personal reaction, I was fine. I wasn’t nervous until I started talking to employees and this is where the emotion won me over. As I spoke to them I was overwhelmed with emotions like sadness, anger. It was very difficult, but I felt I had an obligation to them to stay strong.
P: Did you receive, in this chaos, any communication from the State Department?
A: We were in contact with foreign governments, not so much with Mexico, although we have to remember that one of the things that President (George W.) Bush did was stop all air traffic and there were tens of thousands of Americans. trapped in Europe, Asia and other countries. They could not return to the United States. At that time most of our concerns were in Europe frankly and in the Middle East.
P: By those days, Mexico and the United States were starting a new relationship, with the almost simultaneous start of the presidencies of Vicente Fox and George W. Bush. What changed in the relationship after this Tuesday?
A: There was a lot of excitement at the beginning of the governments of both presidents. It felt like a fresh start. President Bush’s first international trip was to Mexico, in April, to Guanajuato, to Fox’s ranch. And it was at this meeting that the two governments agreed to create a high-level team to talk about migration.
but I’m sorry that the idea that 9/11 stopped this great migration negotiation it is not truly correct. This idea had already died before 9/11. To any extent, I believe that once the attacks occurred, the attention of the United States obviously shifted to other issues. The issue of migration became secondary. It was no longer a priority.
P: Reviewing the last 20 years, what would you say is the biggest impact 9/11 had on the U.S.-Mexico relationship?
A: The war on terrorism became virtually the only issue. Other things that should have been resolved bilaterally with Mexico lost importance. And I remember the Mexican government’s response to the terrorist attacks.
He demonstrated, once again, the ambivalence that Mexico and Mexican politicians have regarding relations with the United States. I think there was concern about the attacks, or sadness but at the same time the Mexicans wanted to make it clear that they were not going to become an ally of the United States in the war on terror.
P: What caught your attention most about this Mexican reluctance to support Washington in its time of need?
A: On September 11, the press asked Jorge Castañeda what Mexico was going to do. I remember he replied that this was not the time to haggle over support United States.
But then he added a phrase I’m sure he didn’t mean, when asked if Mexico would contribute troops to a war: The United States, he said, hasn’t asked us and even if they did we wouldn’t send troops. When the press found this information in the United States he turned it into: “Mexico refuses to help the United States.” This caused a lot of inconvenience to Washington.
P: Did the rest of the two presidencies mark this negative reaction in Washington?
I think if it was marked. And then, months later, when Bush wanted the UN to pass a resolution allowing the United States to go to war against Iraq (…) Mexico was on the UN Security Council at the time and did not support the resolution that the United States wanted. This caused even more tension. But I think the biggest effect was that after 9/11 The United States stopped focusing its attention on Mexico and began to direct it to other issues.
P: Did September 11 generate a missed opportunity between the two countries?
A: I think so. Many of the expectations were lost. After the September attacks there was less interest and less desire to do anything about opportunities as far as Mexico is concerned. I think it’s a case of missed opportunities.
P: And sadly there wouldn’t be any in history
A: There is not.
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