One of the main features of the U.S.-Mexico relationship is the existence of a multiplicity of actors shaping and influencing its evolution. Far from the traditional view where foreign affairs are the prerogative of diplomats at the national level, state and local officials in the U.S. and Mexico routinely interact among themselves and with federal government officials to address bilateral issues impacting their jurisdictions.

One of the main features of the U.S.-Mexico relationship is the existence of a multiplicity of actors shaping and influencing its evolution. Far from the traditional view where foreign affairs are the prerogative of diplomats at the national level, state and local officials in the U.S. and Mexico routinely interact among themselves and with federal government officials to address bilateral issues impacting their jurisdictions.

One of the main features of the U.S.-Mexico relationship is the existence of a multiplicity of actors shaping and influencing its evolution. Far from the traditional view where foreign affairs are the prerogative of diplomats at the national level, state and local officials in the U.S. and Mexico routinely interact among themselves and with federal government officials to address bilateral issues impacting their jurisdictions.

The United States and Mexico have one of the most complex bilateral relationships. They share one of the largest land borders in the world covering 2,000 miles and linking four U.S. states and six Mexican states.

Three years into Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s term and almost one year into president Joe Biden’s presidency, the bilateral institutional framework on security and law enforcement cooperation has been renewed.

In January 2020, the U.S.-Mexico Foundation and the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute celebrated the first edition of Convocation, a program that brings together former Mexican and U.S. Ambassadors to discuss the present and future of the bilateral relationship.

On April 19th, the online news outlet, Reuters, published the news that Mexico had disbanded a Sensitive Investigative Unit (SIU), a binational anti-narcotics unit that had been operating for 25 years.

This report aims to serve as a yearly analysis of the bilateral relationship through an institutional lens that focuses on four types of institutions: agreements, dialogue mechanisms, organizations and programs.