Donald Trump's position paper on immigration released last week, as well as his spoken comments about immigration (the two are not necessarily the same), sparked much commentary in Latin American media.
Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Relations said his proposals were "not just prejudiced and absurd, but would also be harmful to the wellbeing of both societies" A spokesman for Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto said the government is not taking Trump's proposals seriously. He clarified that Mexico will not be paying for a border wall and labeled Trump's comments as irresponsible – rooted in a misunderstanding of what Mexico represents and "a huge lack of understanding of the reality of the United States."
Trump has also received criticism from other political figures. Former Bolivian president Jorge Quiroga referred to Trump's comments as "troglodytic" and "profoundly racist and absolutely wrong."
Other commentary was along the same lines: "fascist thinking", "camouflaged Nazism", " Machiavellian", and "political xenophobia."
And some chose to depict their sentiments in caricature form, like this one from Reforma:
Less colorful but more astute analysis has recognized that Trump's discussion of immigration plays a key function in the presidential debate, forcing the other presidential hopefuls to address immigration more directly.
Update: Here's more Latin American commentary on Donald Trump:
- "Declaraciones de Trump, ignorancia respecto de México: Ruiz Massieu "
- "Mr. Trump, no sólo bruto sino ignorante"
- "Tiempos de odio"
- "Trump, ¿para quién trabaja?"
- "Las razones de trump"
- 'Trumplandia"