Johnathan Drake/Reuters
Donald Trump holds a sign supporting his plan to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.
- Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for not recently insulting Mexico or people of Mexican dec scent.
- Trump has previously blamed Mexico for illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and unfair trade practices during his campaign and presidency.
- The US and Mexico are currently engaged in bilateral talks to reform the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for treating Mexicans with more respect - or at least not saying anything insulting lately.
"For some time now, he (Trump) has been very prudent in referring to Mexicans, or he hasn't said offensive things," Lopez Obrador said Friday. "I have to thank him for that ... up to now, things are going well. There has been respect."
During his campaign and the early part of his administration, Trump blamed Mexico for illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the US, insisting they spend an estimated $25 billion on a border wall, and decrying the United States' trade deficit with Mexico, calling NAFTA "the worst trade deal in history."
He also drew ire for accusing Mexican immigrants of bringing drugs, crime, and sexual violence to America in his June 2015 speech announcing his presidential bid.
The president-elect also said Friday that bilateral talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement "are on a good track." But he paraphrased Yankees legend Yogi Berra and said: "This isn't over till it's over."
Trump has had a rocky relationship with Mexico's current President, Enrique Peña Nieto. In February, Nieto cancelled a planned visit to the White House, reportedly over Trump refusing to admit that Mexico would not fund the border wall in a tense phone call between the two leaders.
Lopez Obrador, who will take office in December, is the former mayor of Mexico City and a progressive leftist politician, who has not empathized US-Mexico relations as strongly as previous Mexican presidents.
Nevertheless, things could be looking up. The United States and Mexico have made healthy progress during the past two weeks of bilateral NAFTA talks on issues including agricultural exports and auto regulations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Earlier this week Trump said about Lopez Obrador: "I think he's going to be terrific."