Gov. Phil Murphy has openly expressed a desire to make an economic mission trip to Mexico and Latin America during his final year in office.
But after Donald Trump won the presidential election on Nov. 5 — running on a promise of mass deportations of undocumented workers, followed by a post-election pledge to put a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico — many in his administration said the trip needed to take place before Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2025.
They feared a backlash in Mexico.
A group of business and political leaders from Veracruz, who made a three-day economic mission trip to the region last week, said those concerns are unfounded. The governor, they said, would be welcome any time.
In fact, they said Trump returning to office is more of a reason to meet.
So said, Christian Ochoa Zarate, the director of the Mexican Center for Local Development and Coordinator of the Latin Dream Program, which helped organize the mission trip.
“I feel the relationship between Mexico and the United States goes beyond ideologies or a particular president,” he said through a translator. “We have to concentrate on finding solutions.”
Ochoa Zarate, in fact, said the timing of a trip by Murphy is ideal for another reason: Rocio Nahle Garcia, Mexico’s former Secretary of Energy, recently was elected governor. Her term started Dec. 1.
Ochoa Zarate, who said he questioned if this is the right time for a Mexican delegation to come to the U.S. before making trip, said he saw the value of doing so.
“It is the right moment to create immediate action items that can have an impact in this new period of government,” he said. “This is the right moment to visit and try to create agreements.”
