Europe

The Quebec Summit of the Americas would supposedly create an economic Fortress Americas. However, EU ties with Latin America are growing in importance and in some ways challenge those of the US. Latin American countries, notably those of the Southern Cone, are developing free trade agreements with the EU, so that some of them, among them Mexico, will have agreements with both the US and the EU. Latin Americans view the EU as a valued counterweight to the US.

Spain especially values its relationship with New Spain, i.e. Mexico. During the Civil War, Mexico was almost the only country to give generous support to the Republic. When it fell, it welcomed Spanish refugees, who formed an important ingredient in the Mexican mix. I met many of the leaders there in the following years, and Burnett Bolloten based much of the information for his monumental The Spanish Civil War on interviews with them.

In 1939 Spanish intellectuals established the Colegio de Mexico, which has become an important and highly respected research institution. Spain has just awarded it the Príncipe de Asturias Prize, and the accompanying eulogies stressed that it was a valued factor in relations between Mexico and Europe, viewed implicitly as offsetting the overwhelming influence of the United States.

Ronald Hilton - 5/27/01