Mexico continues to face challenges in 2021, as it continues to grapple with economic fallout from the global COVID pandemic and amid policy shifts emanating from the United States, as President Joe Biden assumed the office in January. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, 67, also tested positive for coronavirus after a recent business trip; he is currently quarantining at the National Palace in Mexico City.

Within his first three days of office, President Biden issued several executive orders. Among these, executive action included halting funding for the construction of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and preserving a path forward for those individuals brought illegally to the United States as a child by their parents that are now adults (so called “Dreamers”/ Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals “DACA” program recipients). President Biden also signed letters that had the United States rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and halted the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization. Notable for Mexico, President Biden appointed Ambassador Roberta Jacobson as his southwest border coordinator within the National Security Council.