It will take much more than “xenophobia, irresponsibility and total disregard for facts” to derail the neighbors’ relationship, the former Mexican ambassador to Washington writes.

The top human rights body of the United Nations voted on Thursday to appoint an independent monitor to help protect gay and transgender people around the world from violence and discrimination. The U.N. Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, creates an “independent expert” charged with identifying the root causes of violence and discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, and then talking with governments about ways to protect them.

Most countries in the Americas still approach global and regional geopolitics through the realist prism, underpinned by a Westphalian view of international relations. It’s therefore no surprise that the great majority of Latin American foreign ministries do not consider that the ability to attract, coax, and persuade stems from soft power. Given this, brand or mission statement will not alter fundamental geopolitical or diplomatic circumstances. 

Since we do not have the money to compete with China and with the strong nations of Asia, we must use "football diplomacy" with our European and Latin America will be more than willing to help the Philippines to hold its own in the football arena of Asia.

A week before President Barack Obama’s arrival to Argentina, the visit had already appeared in the major newspapers. Everyone pondered the agenda and the meaning of the trip. It was during this time that I received an email from the U.S. Embassy notifying me that I had been selected to participate in one of the major events that Obama would attend in Argentina: a town hall meeting. 

After attending the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit on April 1 in Washington D.C., South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto headed down to Mexico City to hold their second bilateral summit, albeit the first one hosted by one of the two countries. [...] the aggressive pursuit of economic diplomacy was at the core of South Korea’s agenda for the April 2-5 Korea-Mexico summit.