Breathe
By Sofía Guadarrama Collad
Marco Rubio, born in 1971 in Miami, Florida, of Cuban descent, will be the first Hispanic to serve as U.S. Secretary of State.
As a member of the Republican Party, throughout his political career, he has been senator for the state of Florida since 2010 and pre-candidate of the Republican Party for the 2016 presidential elections, in which he contended, nothing more and nothing less than against Donald Trump whom he called "swindler" by criticizing him for his multiple business bankruptcies and for taking advantage of the 2008 financial crisis; likewise, he accused him of taking advantage of workers; also, he mocked Trump's physical appearance: his artificial tan and the size of his hands and added that "if he hadn't inherited $200 million, he'd be selling watches in Manhattan." The paradox is that he mocked his foreign policy proposals and his idea of building a wall along the border with Mexico.
But in politics nothing is serious as long as it is public and Donald Trump knows it and for that very reason, in three days he will appoint him Secretary of State of the most powerful country on the planet.
Rubio has been tough on national security, immigration and foreign policy, especially against Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, Miguel Díaz-Canel of Cuba, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Kirchnerism in Argentina and López Obrador in Mexico.
Last January 15, in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio insisted on the importance of national sovereignty and the need to face global challenges, such as what he called "China's aggression" "that has lied, cheated, hacked and stolen"; and the war in Ukraine, which, he believes, should end with an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, in which the latter gives up territory that Russia has usurped over the last decade.
He also expressed his interest in confronting the Mexican cartels, which he described as a threat to the United States, as "they have operational control of huge territories on the border of Mexico with the United States", and emphasized the possibility of designating them as terrorist organizations and that "a military action" to combat them is "an option on the table", although he added that "it is not the State Department's preferred option", and that the final decision will be in the hands of President Trump.
Appointing Marco Rubio as Secretary of State is one of Donald Trump's best decisions, as Rubio - unlike others, such as Peter Brian Hegseth, a TV host and future U.S. Secretary of Defense - is not an improviser, he has extensive experience in international affairs, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he worked for 14 years.
Fortunately for Mexican citizens, Marco Rubio -and not precisely Donald Trump- could be the greatest threat to the government of Claudia Sheinbaum and AMLO, who dismantled the incipient democracy in Mexico. Antony Blinken has not been conspicuous for his interest in Latin American affairs and neither have previous ones. Marco Rubio has a vested interest. He is Hispanic, of Cuban origin and the son of immigrants. In his childhood he lived and suffered from afar the arrival of Castroism and saw how the island deteriorated. He knows perfectly well the problems of Latin America. The last thing he wants is to see how the Sao Paulo Forum destroys democracy in Latin America.
His background will be our greatest benefit in his approach to Latin American policy. Although a Republican, Rubio is a wise politician, able to negotiate and work with Democrats on issues of utmost importance.
Perhaps it will dynamite relations with Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Mexico. At best, perhaps it could force Claudia Sheinbaum to seriously pursue organized crime and change many of her socialist policies that are doing so much damage to our country.
*Sofía Guadarrama Collado, prolific author and scholar of Mexican history for 24 years. Her exceptional narrative instinct, as well as her conspicuous perception of the world, have positioned her as one of the best-selling Mexican writers at the national level.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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