美国国家公共电台 NPR--What does America's fentanyl problem mean for U.S.-Mexico relations?

What does America's fentanyl problem mean for U.S.-Mexico relations?

Transcript¹

Five men with links to Mexican drug cartels have been accused of kidnapping and murdering five Americans last month in Matamoros, but this incident has done little to put out the flaming tensions between the United States and Mexico.

Some members of Congress have called for the U.S. military to destroy Mexican drug labs in order to rid the state of drug cartels. But Mexico's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, blames America's fentanyl problem on the U.S. itself, saying that it's an issue of American "social decay."

Dan Restrepo, a former advisor² to President Obama on Latin American affairs and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress is concerned that these kinds of comments will do more damage than lawmakers think. Restrpo spoke³ to NPR's Sacha Pieffer about the importance of stabilizing⁴ U.S-Mexico relations.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

We definitely take our relationship with Mexico for granted. It's one of our largest trading partners. There's a million legal border crossings every day, $1 billion in trade every day. It's kind of in the background for most Americans until something breaks through, something like the kidnappings in Matamoros last week, something like protests around democratic backsliding in Mexico. So we're at a critical moment in the U.S.-Mexico relationship where we need to take it more seriously. And we need to understand that things that we do in the United States have profound impacts on Mexico, and things that happen in Mexico have profound impacts on the United States, and treat the relationship accordingly.

The effects of losing Mexico as a trading partner

We have a number of trade disputes right now with Mexico on the importation by Mexico of corn from the United States that could hit farmers real hard. On energy companies, a bunch of renewable energy companies and investors⁵ from the United States in Mexico have been under attack by the current government in Mexico. And again, this is the No. 2 trading partner last year for the United States in the world. Previous year, it was No. 1. Every year since the 1980s, it's been in the top three. So every American is a stakeholder in the U.S.-Mexico relationship in multiple ways. And the things that corrode⁶ the relationship will appear in our supermarkets and in our politics and in day-to-day life pretty much unlike any other relationship that we have in the world right now.

On the "blame game" for the opioid crisis

The blame game is politics. The opioid crisis is a serious one that has profoundly and negatively affected⁷ millions of Americans - 100,000 overdose deaths last year alone. It's a crisis that began on prescription⁸ pads in the United States but now very much has a component⁹ that runs through Mexico. A lot of fentanyl is manufactured in Mexico with precursor¹⁰ chemicals from China. And others are trafficked through Mexico. So it's not an either/or. It's a both. There's responsibility on both sides of the border. But it's also important that politicians on both sides of the border treat this responsibly.

On the best way to strengthen US-Mexico relations

Mexico does a lot of work in American politics. And the United States does a fair amount of work in Mexican politics. And unfortunately, when we're in moments like the one we find ourselves in today, that political noise gets in the way of good decision-making and the hard policy choices that need to be made in both countries so that we can all be better off. Engagement, engagement, engagement and engagement beyond the current government. There are multiple stakeholders in Mexico that need the touch of the United States government and need kind of constant care and attention in a way that is difficult but absolutely necessary.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

5 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

6 corrode   

v.使腐蚀，侵蚀，破害；v.腐蚀，被侵蚀

参考例句：

• The tools will corrode with rust if never used.这些工具如长期不用会长铁锈而损坏。
• It will pollute people's aesthetic taste and corrode social spirit.它污染人们的审美趣味，腐蚀社会精神。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

9 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

10 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。