Mexicans react to first US Presidential debate

World Today

Plenty of people outside the United States also watched the first televised debate between U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Mexico is one country in particular with a keen interest in Barack Obama’s successor.

CCTV’s Franc Contreras reports the story.

Democrats Abroad sponsored a political gathering at a U.S.-style barbecue joint in the Mexican capital. Mexicans and U.S. citizens lined up to take in the full flavor of the first U.S. presidential debate between Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Trump wasted no time — mentioning Mexico several times early on in the debate. For example, during the debate he said: “Our jobs are fleeing the country. They’re going to Mexico. They’re going to many other countries.”

American-born political analyst Laura Carlsen, now a Mexican citizen, attended the event.

“I’ve lived in Mexico for 30 years and I don’t think I have ever seen an election that has spurred as much interest as this one and it’s obvious why because Donald Trump has made Mexico in many way the center of his platform, he has Mexico a scapegoat for the kind of problems and insecurities that many people in the US are feeling,” said Laura Carlsen.

But in this first debate, the issue of immigration was not addressed, and there was no mention of Trump’s plan to build a border wall separating the U.S. and Mexico – and force Mexico to pay for it.

Many of the Mexican citizens in the crowd have family in the United States. Mexican businesswoman Veronica Reyes resented what she sees as Trump’s constant attempts to blame Mexico for economic woes in the U.S.

Indeed, Mexicans will continue to watch this race closely. They know that electoral decisions taken by their northern neighbors strongly impact politics and the economy here in Mexico.