The Image of Mexico Abroad in the Context of the Millennium Development Goals: Lessons for Public Diplomacy

Abstract

The chapter discusses the image of Mexico abroad in the context of the millennium development goals (MDGs) from 2000 to 2015. The author’s main argument is that nations not only engage in projects of development for reasons associated with improving their domestic social situation, but that they are also concerned with how they are viewed and measured by other nations. The “image component” of state development is understood as a way to project a country’s ways to identify with social and material progress, particularly in association with the MDGs, hence, the author will refer to “state image” throughout the text, except for circumstances in which it is more appropriate to talk about “nation image.” The case made in this chapter is that Mexico’s success in achieving most of the MDGs in due time is based on the fact that the country is clearly punching below its weight in international affairs and has also promoted a state image that does not correspond to the material development of its society, thus creating a dissonance with its own identity as an emerging country. Phrased differently, the situation is that of the Mexican government constructing public diplomacy to convey a misleading message to foreign audiences in relation to international commitments on domestic development that are too easy to fulfill for a nation like Mexico, which belongs to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Hence this chapter shows the country-image motivations that drive governments to misuse public relations and propaganda strategies instead of applying proper public diplomacy, in the name of advancing projects such as the MDGs, and their successors, the sustainable development goals (SDGs). If one is to take public diplomacy seriously, the challenge is to accept the use of data and communications under the rules of an open and democratic society. This stance assumes that it is necessary to address foreign audiences with all cards on the table, in recognition of the fact that in a global information world, data is always available and ready to be corroborated critically by peers and the interested public. A nation’s image, when used as a public diplomacy strategy by governments, must also be treated as a representation of an objective reality that can be verified by anyone else, and thus provide critical tools for aiding perception and understanding of the country, without the goal of necessarily being liked by others. In line with this reasoning, propaganda can no longer be an option for democratic governments committed to universal agendas, such as the MDGs.