Former Mexican President Fox Slams American Manufacturing as 'Mediocre'

When Mexican President Vicente Fox Quesada left office in 2006 after a six-year stint, he didn’t go quietly into political retirement.

With the advent of social media, the outspoken Fox gained the ability to launch barbs with ease and generally treat politicians like a well-used piñata. His latest target? Take a guess.

Following President Trump’s recent declarations — including a promise to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and a threat to impose a 20 percent border tax on Mexican goods — Fox spoke his mind on the issue, trolling Trump on Twitter and making statements on the U.S. auto industry that won’t get him invited to many parties in Detroit.

Fox, whose last tweet reads, “Amigos in the world let’s make twitter great again,” followed by the activist anti-Trump hashtag went to bat for his country’s manufacturing scene.

The ex-president’s Twitter tirade included several messages for the new American president. In one, he asked Trump, “who’s gonna pay for the costly products after you tax them? American citizens! You’re not respecting them.”

In another, he tried to appeal to reason, while adding a threat of his own. “Trump, please don’t be stubborn,” he wrote. “By taxing 20%, again American people pays for the f..wall. You know MX will impose same tax to US exports.”

While his tweets targeted Trump and trade, the mustachioed Mexican didn’t back on his neighbor’s automobile industry when interviewed by CNBC.

“You produce cars in the United States at such a high price and such a mediocre, mediocre quality that you cannot compete, you cannot compete manufacturing in the United States,” Fox said today. “That’s why Ford, Chrysler, General Motors went broke.”

Mexican manufacturing, on the other hand, is top-notch, Fox said. Blame American job losses on the rise of the machines.

“We’re productive because we’re competitive, because we produce high-quality cars,” he told CNBC. “We are not taking away jobs from the United States. It’s robots … not Mexico.”

A quick perusal of Fox’s Twitter is a good glimpse at both the free time enjoyed by ex-presidents, and of a country’s simmering anger towards a proposed policy that could hurl a wrench into its economy. The proposed border tax aims to prevent American industry from setting up shop in the cheaper environs south of the border. It would also fund the construction of a border wall.

After a planned meeting fell apart earlier this week, Trump spent an hour on the phone with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto today.

According to the Washington Post, Trump said, “We had a very good call. I have been very strong on Mexico. I have great respect for Mexico. I love the Mexican people,” adding, “Mexico has out-negotiated us and beat us to a pulp. They’ve made us look foolish.”

[Image: Gage Skidmore/ Flickr ( CC BY-SA 2.0)]