Governor Abbott plays stupid games, wins stupid prizes
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border crackdown is generating fresh backlash, with Mexico’s economy minister announcing that a new rail line to the U.S. would now go via New Mexico instead of the Lone Star State.
“We’re now not going to use Texas,” Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier said at a conference April 28 in Mexico City, referring to a planned rail and ports expansion known as the T-MEC Corridor to connect the Pacific port of Mazatlan to the Canadian city of Winnipeg. “We can’t leave all the eggs in one basket and be hostages to someone who wants to use trade as a political tool.”
Clouthier’s message was clear: Mexico is angry about the chaos at the border caused by Abbott’s surprise order a few weeks back to force commercial trucks coming from Mexico to undergo additional inspections. While Texas officials didn’t uncover any contraband or undocumented migrants, they created hourslong delays that left fresh produce to rot and caused havoc with supply chains.