Mexican senator proposes bill to protect country from Donald Trump

Mexicans have been outraged by the government's decision to invite Mr Trump to the country

AMexican senator is proposing legislation that would block any attempt by Donald Trump to force the country to pay for a border wall, amid outrage over President Enrique Peña Nieto's meeting with the Republican candidate last week.

“It was an historic error for our president to invite a person like that to our country. [Mr Trump] used us as a campaign tool,” says Mexican senator Armando Rios Piter.

As the Republican presidential candidate rose in many polls early this week, Senator Rios, from the leftist PRD party is planning to introduce a bill that would prepare Mexico for a fight if Mr Trump wins.

“The goal is to foresee and prevent any negative effects on Mexico if Trump becomes president of the United States,” Senator Armando Rios Piter tells the Telegraph from the senate floor.

Last week, Mr Trump made a flash visit to Mexico where he backed off his anti-immigrant rhetoric and called Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto a “friend.” That night, Mr Trump returned to Arizona, where he reverted to his aggressive stance.

“Mexico will pay for the wall,” Mr Trump said to a raucous crowd in Arizona after coyly saying from Mexico that he and President Peña Nieto hadn’t discussed the issue.

Commentators have since roasted Mr Peña Nieto for being weak and betraying Mexicans with the visit, which has rocked his cabinet and led to the resignation on Wednesday of the finance minister who masterminded the meeting.

The senator proposal's would tackle three areas he sees as threatened by a Trump presidency. First, it would ban the finance ministry from using public funds on any project that is “against the country’s interest”. In other words, it would be illegal to pay for Mr Trump’s notorious border wall.

Next, if Mr Trump were to cancel the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), that would trigger Mexico’s review, and possible cancellation, of all 75 bilateral agreements between the US and Mexico. These agreements date back centuries and include truly historic deals, including the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American war and resulted in the US acquiring land encompassing the states of Texas and California, as well as large parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.

Senator Rios Piter said these major deals wouldn’t likely be broken but rather wants the legislation to stress that the US has lots to lose by attacking Mexico.

Finally, Mexico would retaliate if Mr Trump were to economically target Mexicans living in the US. Mr Trump has proposed blocking remittance payments to Mexico to finance his wall. The Mexican proposal would levy an equivalent tax on American citizens living in Mexico.  More than one million US citizens reside in Mexico.

Mr Rios Piter told the Telegraph he is just in initial conversations with other senators about the legislation, but is hopeful that by next week he will be able to see the legislation being discussed on the floor.

“We can’t take a partisan view of this,” says Senator Rios. “All parties in the senate are in agreement that Mexico needs to stand up for itself and strengthen its relationship with the United States. We want to shut Trump’s mouth, which has been spewing this hateful speech.”

Mr Trump relishes in personally attacking his opponents, but Senator Rios isn’t worried.

“As a Mexican, I already feel attacked and outraged at Trump. That’s why we have to act.”