Made in Mexico
You think bullying and bribery will work?
I’m thinking about President Trump’s approach to negotiating his new deals with Mexico.
Sitting by the pool in Mazatlán, I’m surrounded by happy Mexicans working for $8-a-day and happy tourists spending $200 or $300-a-day. We’re all a little uncomfortable with the contrast, but the Americans are feeling even more uncomfortable and unwelcome here after 18-months of harsh rhetoric from their new President. They will find his isolationist, “America first,” trade and foreign policies equally unwelcome elsewhere. We are already seeing the early consequences.
Canadian snowbirds from BC to Quebec are buying timeshares and booking vacations here in solidarity with Mexico and in protest of Trump. The pushback has begun and negotiations will start by demonstrating the downside to his plans.
Trump is unlikely to change his tactics. He brags about his approach in The Art of the Deal. He got rich and won the presidency by bullying opponents and bribing supporters with access to his power and money. Those tactics have worked in the past with city councils, bureaucrats and regulators and worked during his campaign with angry, neglected voters and with anxious Republicans determined to dump the Democrats. They will not work with experienced executives, competent national leaders and knowledgeable diplomats.
I prefer and recommend the approach in The Art of Negotiation that requires more effort to understand the issues and the needs of both parties before negotiating towards a win-win solution.
Then there are the ethical issues: the lying and cheating, the unmitigated selfish greed and ambition that only work if you are an arrogant, ignorant narcissist. Definitely not the qualifications for enlightened entrepreneurship or management of any business and unlikely to deliver the security and prosperity that have been promised for America.
It will be hard to watch.
Your Uncle Ralph, Del Chatterson
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