United States presidential visits to Mexico
Encyclopedia
U.S. presidential visits to Mexico
have been done by every president
since World War II
. President Taft also walked across the border in 1909, which was the first visit for any U.S. president; President Obama's first visit was the 30th for any U.S. president. The country was most visited by presidents George W. Bush
and Ronald Reagan
. Both George W. Bush and Reagan visited Mexico more often than Canada
, and both presidents had previously been governors of states with large Mexican-American populations. However, only Presidents Carter
and Taft
were able to speak in Spanish when talking to the Mexican head of state.
Canadians consider it respectful of the old alliance for the President to make Canada the destination of their first international trip. However, President Bush pointedly made his first international visit to President Fox's ranch, in the so-called cowboy summit.
A total of 10 trips have been to the border cities of Tijuana
, Mexicali
, Ciudad Juárez
, Nogales
and nearby Magdalena de Kino
, Ciudad Acuña
, and Nuevo Guerrero (Falcon Dam State Park). The last visit to a border city was in 1986. Only 6 trips have been to the Federal District (Mexico City
).
in El Paso
and Ciudad Juárez
on October 16, 1909, the first in history between a president of the United States and a president of Mexico, was described by the local press as the "Most Eventful Diplomatic Event in the History of the Two Nations." An El Paso historian has added that it was a "veritable pageant of military splendor, social brilliance, courtly formality, official protocol, and patriotic fervor." In June 1909 President Taft, desiring an expression from the Díaz government of its continued support of American investments in Mexico, wrote that he was planning a trip to the Southwest and suggested a meeting with the Mexican president at El Paso or some other convenient place on the border. President Díaz readily accepted Taft's invitation to meet in El Paso in October 1909, since he was convinced that his personal appearance in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez area, where there had been significant opposition to his regime, would restore his lost popularity and remind his countrymen that in spite of his years he was still in firm control. The proceedings for the meeting were planned in the greatest detail by the United States Department of State
and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to matters of protocol, the two governments made the most elaborate arrangements for the protection and safety of the two presidents. Significantly, the area in dispute in south El Paso known as the Chamizal was declared neutral territory, the flags of neither nation to be displayed during the meeting (see Chamizal dispute
). President Taft arrived in El Paso on the morning of October 16 and, after attending a presidential breakfast at the St. Regis Hotel, was driven to the Chamber of Commerce Building. There the El Paso Committee, taking the fullest advantage of the opportunity of the moment, presented El Paso's case regarding the Elephant Butte dam project (in New Mexico), which had been dormant for several years, and obtained from the president a commitment that he would give the matter his personal attention-a hopeful sign that the project was still alive.
President Díaz arrived at 11:00 A.M., and after formal introductions, spent about twenty minutes alone with the American president. Because both presidents were bilingual there was no need for interpreters. No one else attended the meeting. Whether the Chamizal dispute was discussed is not known. Although official reports of the meeting stated that nothing of political or diplomatic significance was discussed, some have suggested that the basis was laid there for the treaty of arbitration that the two nations signed a year later. Díaz then returned to Ciudad Juárez, followed by Taft an hour later, and all preparations were then completed for the meeting of the two presidents at the Mexican customhouse. There, after a brief interview, they stepped outside to the front of the building under a scarlet canopy and posed for a cameraman. The resulting photograph effectively dramatized the contrast between Taft's plain appearance and Díaz's military bearing and chest full of medals. The banquet at the Ciudad Juárez customhouse dwarfed all other events of that historic occasion. The entire building had been transformed into a reproduction of one of the famous salons of Versailles. There were rich red draperies, paintings of George Washington and Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, three traincarloads of flowers brought from Guadalajara, a gold and silver service that had belonged to the Emperor Maximilian and was valued at a million dollars, cut glass from Chapultepec Castle valued at $200,000, and fine linens from the presidential palace. There was soft music, conversation in two languages, and mutual toasts by the two presidents. With the presentation of gold goblets to the presidents as gifts from the city of El Paso, the evening came to an end. Taft returned to El Paso to board a train for San Antonio. At length he let El Pasoans know that construction of the Elephant Butte Dam
project would begin in 1910. Nineteen months later Porfirio Díaz was overthrown with the capture of Ciudad Juárez by revolutionary forces.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
have been done by every president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. President Taft also walked across the border in 1909, which was the first visit for any U.S. president; President Obama's first visit was the 30th for any U.S. president. The country was most visited by presidents George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. Both George W. Bush and Reagan visited Mexico more often than Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and both presidents had previously been governors of states with large Mexican-American populations. However, only Presidents Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
and Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
were able to speak in Spanish when talking to the Mexican head of state.
Canadians consider it respectful of the old alliance for the President to make Canada the destination of their first international trip. However, President Bush pointedly made his first international visit to President Fox's ranch, in the so-called cowboy summit.
A total of 10 trips have been to the border cities of Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Mexicali
Mexicali
Mexicali is the capital of the State of Baja California, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 936,826.The city...
, Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
, Nogales
Nogales
Nogales is a Spanish word meaning "walnut trees".As a geographical name, it is shared by several places:*Chile**Nogales, Chile*Mexico**Nogales, Chihuahua**Nogales, Durango**Nogales, Sonora**Nogales, Tamaulipas**Nogales, Veracruz*Spain...
and nearby Magdalena de Kino
Magdalena de Kino
Magdalena de Kino is a city and surrounding municipality located in the Mexican state of Sonora covering approximately 560 square miles . According to the 2005 census, the city's population was 23,101, and the municipality's population was 25,500. Magdalena de Kino is in the northern section of...
, Ciudad Acuña
Ciudad Acuña
Ciudad Acuña, also known simply as Acuña, is a city located in the Mexican state of Coahuila, at and a mean height above sea level of 271 meters...
, and Nuevo Guerrero (Falcon Dam State Park). The last visit to a border city was in 1986. Only 6 trips have been to the Federal District (Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
).
The Taft-Diaz meeting
This visit was only the second international trip by a sitting president. Previously only Theodore Roosevelt had travelled to Panama while president. The meeting of presidents William Howard Taft and Porfirio DíazPorfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
in El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
and Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
on October 16, 1909, the first in history between a president of the United States and a president of Mexico, was described by the local press as the "Most Eventful Diplomatic Event in the History of the Two Nations." An El Paso historian has added that it was a "veritable pageant of military splendor, social brilliance, courtly formality, official protocol, and patriotic fervor." In June 1909 President Taft, desiring an expression from the Díaz government of its continued support of American investments in Mexico, wrote that he was planning a trip to the Southwest and suggested a meeting with the Mexican president at El Paso or some other convenient place on the border. President Díaz readily accepted Taft's invitation to meet in El Paso in October 1909, since he was convinced that his personal appearance in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez area, where there had been significant opposition to his regime, would restore his lost popularity and remind his countrymen that in spite of his years he was still in firm control. The proceedings for the meeting were planned in the greatest detail by the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to matters of protocol, the two governments made the most elaborate arrangements for the protection and safety of the two presidents. Significantly, the area in dispute in south El Paso known as the Chamizal was declared neutral territory, the flags of neither nation to be displayed during the meeting (see Chamizal dispute
Chamizal dispute
The Chamizal dispute was a border conflict over about on the U.S.-Mexico border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. It was caused by differences between the bed of the Rio Grande as surveyed in 1852 and the present channel of the river....
). President Taft arrived in El Paso on the morning of October 16 and, after attending a presidential breakfast at the St. Regis Hotel, was driven to the Chamber of Commerce Building. There the El Paso Committee, taking the fullest advantage of the opportunity of the moment, presented El Paso's case regarding the Elephant Butte dam project (in New Mexico), which had been dormant for several years, and obtained from the president a commitment that he would give the matter his personal attention-a hopeful sign that the project was still alive.
President Díaz arrived at 11:00 A.M., and after formal introductions, spent about twenty minutes alone with the American president. Because both presidents were bilingual there was no need for interpreters. No one else attended the meeting. Whether the Chamizal dispute was discussed is not known. Although official reports of the meeting stated that nothing of political or diplomatic significance was discussed, some have suggested that the basis was laid there for the treaty of arbitration that the two nations signed a year later. Díaz then returned to Ciudad Juárez, followed by Taft an hour later, and all preparations were then completed for the meeting of the two presidents at the Mexican customhouse. There, after a brief interview, they stepped outside to the front of the building under a scarlet canopy and posed for a cameraman. The resulting photograph effectively dramatized the contrast between Taft's plain appearance and Díaz's military bearing and chest full of medals. The banquet at the Ciudad Juárez customhouse dwarfed all other events of that historic occasion. The entire building had been transformed into a reproduction of one of the famous salons of Versailles. There were rich red draperies, paintings of George Washington and Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, three traincarloads of flowers brought from Guadalajara, a gold and silver service that had belonged to the Emperor Maximilian and was valued at a million dollars, cut glass from Chapultepec Castle valued at $200,000, and fine linens from the presidential palace. There was soft music, conversation in two languages, and mutual toasts by the two presidents. With the presentation of gold goblets to the presidents as gifts from the city of El Paso, the evening came to an end. Taft returned to El Paso to board a train for San Antonio. At length he let El Pasoans know that construction of the Elephant Butte Dam
Elephant Butte Dam
Elephant Butte Dam or Elephant Butte Dike is a concrete gravity dam on the Rio Grande near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The river was dammed here, impounding the Elephant Butte Reservoir for recreation and agriculture, lessening the downstream flow from a Rio Bravo to a stream a foot deep.The...
project would begin in 1910. Nineteen months later Porfirio Díaz was overthrown with the capture of Ciudad Juárez by revolutionary forces.
Table of Visits
| Dates of Visit | President of USA | President of Mexico | Cities | Reason (Unless noted a meeting with President assumed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9-10 , Aug-09 | Obama, Barack | Felipe Calderón Felipe Calderón Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...  |
Guadalajara | Attended annual North American Leaders' Summit North American Leaders' Summit The North American Leaders' Summit is the official name of the trilateral annual summit between the prime minister of Canada, and the presidents of Mexico and the United States... with President Felipe Calderón and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. |
| 16-17, Apr-09 | Mexico, D.F. | Speech on gun control and drug cartels. | ||
| 12-14, Mar-07 | Bush, G.W. | Mérida, Uxmal | Visited Mayan ruins. | |
| 30-31, Mar-06 | Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected...  |
Cancun, Chichen-Itza | Also met with Canadian Prime Minister Harper. | |
| 12-13, Jan-04 | Monterrey | Attended the Special Summit of the Americas. | ||
| 26-27, Oct-02 | Los Cabos | Attended APEC Summit Meeting. | ||
| 21-22, Mar-02 | Monterrey | Attended the International Conference on Financing for Development. | ||
| 16-Feb-01 | San Cristobal | Cowboy Summit at ranch | ||
| 14-15, Feb-99 | Clinton, William | Ernesto Zedillo Ernesto Zedillo Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León is a Mexican economist and politician. He served as President of Mexico from December 1, 1994 to November 30, 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted seventy year line of Mexican presidents from the Institutional Revolutionary Party... .jpg) |
Mérida | State visit |
| 5-7, May-97 | Mexico, D.F., Tlaxcala | State Visit | ||
| 26-27, Nov-90 | Bush, H. | Carlos Salinas de Gortari |
Monterrey, Agualeguas | State Visit, Agualeguas is birthplace of Salinas |
| 13-Feb-88 | Reagan, Ronald | Miguel de la Madrid Miguel de la Madrid Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado is a Mexican politician affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party who served as President of Mexico from 1982 to 1988.-Biography:... |
Mazatlán | Signed textile agreement. |
| 3-Jan-86 | Mexicali | Informal meeting. | ||
| 14-Aug-83 | La Paz (Baja California) | Informal meeting. | ||
| 8-Oct-82 | Portillo,(lame duck) | Tijuana | Met with President-elect de la Madrid. | |
| 21-24, Oct-81 | José López Portillo José López Portillo José López Portillo y Pacheco was the President of Mexico from 1976 to 1982.Born in Mexico City, López Portillo studied Law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico before beginning his political career with the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1959.He held several positions in the...  |
Cancín | Attended Summit Meeting on International Cooperation and Development. Met with the Heads of State and Government of Algeria, Bangladesh, Canada, China, France, Guyana, India, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia. | |
| 5-Jan-81 | Ciudad Juárez | [Visit made as President-elect.] | ||
| 14-16 Feb-79 | Carter, James | Mexico, D.F. | State visit; addressed the Mexican Congress. | |
| 21-Oct-74 | Ford, Gerald | Luis Echeverría Luis Echeverría Luis Echeverría Álvarez served as President of Mexico from 1970 to 1976.-Early history:Echeverría joined the faculty of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1947 and taught political theory... |
Nogales, Magdalena de Kino | Laid a wreath at the tomb of Padre Eusebio Kino. |
| 20-21, Aug-70 | Nixon, Richard | Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Bolaños served as the President of Mexico from 1964 to 1970.- Political career :Díaz Ordaz was born in San Andrés Chalchícomula . His father, Ramón Díaz Ordaz Redonet, worked as an accountant, while his mother, Sabina Bolaños Cacho de Díaz Ordaz, worked as a school teacher... |
Puerto Vallarta | Official visit. |
| 8-Sep-69 | Ciudad Acuña | Dedicated Aimistad Dam. | ||
| 28-Oct-67 | Johnson, Lyndon | Ciudad Juárez | Attended transfer of El Chamizal from the US. to Mexico. | |
| 3-Dec-66 | Ciudad Acuña | Inspected construction of Arnistad Dam. | ||
| 14-15, Apr-66 | Mexico, D.F. | Informal visit. | ||
| 29 Jun- 1 Jul, 62 | Kennedy, John F. | Adolfo López Mateos Adolfo López Mateos Adolfo López Mateos was a Mexican politician affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party who served as President of Mexico from 1958 to 1964...  |
Mexico, D.F. | State visit. |
| 24-Oct-60 | Eisenhower, Dwight | Ciudad Acuña | Informal visit. | |
| 19-20, Feb 59 | Acapulco | Informal meeting. | ||
| 19-Oct-53 | Adolfo Ruiz Cortines Adolfo Ruiz Cortines Adolfo Ruiz Cortines was President of Mexico from 1952 to 1958, representing the Institutional Revolutionary Party he was one of the oldest presidents of Mexico...  |
Nuevo Guerrero | Dedicated Falcon Dam. | |
| 3-6, Mar-47 | Truman, Harry | Miguel Alemán Valdés Miguel Alemán Valdés Miguel Alemán Valdés served as the President of Mexico from 1946 to 1952.-Life:Alemán was born in Sayula in the state of Veracruz as the son of General Miguel Alemán González and Tomasa Valdés Ledezma...  |
Mexico, D.F. | State visit |
| 20-Apr-43 | Roosevelt, Franklin | Manuel Ávila Camacho Manuel Ávila Camacho Manuel Ávila Camacho served as the President of Mexico from 1940 to 1946.Manuel Ávila was born in the city of Teziutlán, a small town in Puebla, to middle-class parents, Manuel Ávila Castillo and Eufrosina Camacho Bello. He had several siblings, among them sister María Jovita Ávila Camacho and...  |
Monterrey | Exchange of visits across the border. |
| 16-Oct-1909 | Taft, William Howard | Porfirio Díaz Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...  |
Ciudad Juárez | Exchange of visits across the border. |
See also
- International travel by the United States president
- United States presidential visits to AfricaUnited States presidential visits to AfricaThis article concerns trips of a sitting United States President to Sub-Saharan Africa. -Highlights:* The first presidential trip was an offshoot of the secretive World War II trip of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943. The trip to Africa was a direct result of the technology of aircraft of...
- United States presidential visits to CanadaUnited States presidential visits to CanadaVisits by the President of the United States to Canada have been a part of Canada – United States relations since the early twentieth century....
- United States presidential visits to United KingdomUnited States presidential visits to United KingdomThe United Kingdom is the most common international destination for a sitting United States president. This is partly because of the importance of London as a global city, the convenience of meeting in Bermuda, a British territory in the Western Hemisphere, the importance of the UK as a strategic...