Mexico Braces for the Fallout of a Trump Presidency

MEXICO CITY — For Mexico, the nightmare came true.

Perhaps no country aside from the United States itself had as much at stake in the American presidential election as Mexico did.

Then early on Wednesday, it watched as Donald J. Trump became the next American president, bringing to power a candidate whose central promises have included building a wall between the two countries, upending decades-old trade deals and deporting millions of Mexican immigrants.

A volatile peso suffered its largest drop in nearly 20 years, a market stand-in for the general sentiment across Mexico as Mr. Trump was elected to the most powerful office in the world. For many, his election set back years of carefully cultivated efforts to improve the cross-border relationship, one that has been historically fraught. His election promises a turbulent financial future for Mexico, which relies on America as an economic lifeline, both in terms of trade and remittances.

“It’s an unmitigated disaster,” said Jorge Castañeda, a former Mexican foreign minister and professor of politics and Latin American studies at New York University. “There are very few tools to fix the relationship.”

For months, Mexico watched the campaign with a mix of fear and bemusement, forced to stare down a raw undercurrent of American vitriol unleashed by Mr. Trump’s candidacy. Now, the election seems a harbinger of hard days to come for the country, its economy, migration and even its state of mind.

“This election reminded us of the bad image Mexico has in the U.S.,” said Jesús Silva-Herzog, a columnist and professor at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Mexico. “It has also served as a mirror in which we have painfully seen our reflection.”

“We will not have to wait for the presidential baton to be passed to feel the devastating effects, not only in economic terms but also the existential crisis it will cause,” he added.

Across Mexico City, hopes of an expected victory for Hillary Clinton were dashed as the state-by-state tallies went Mr. Trump’s way. In the streets, where Mexicans were already suffering a stagnant economy and worsening violence, the vote felt like a validation of Mr. Trump’s hostile remarks about Mexican immigrants and a broad statement of disrespect from their northern neighbors.

“Imagine what the U.S. will look like from now,” said Angelina González, who sells cosmetics in Mexico City. “A big wave of discrimination is coming.”

Among journalists from Horizontal, a cultural and political online magazine in Mexico City, spirits were low, and confusion reigned. Antonio Martínez Velázquez, a co-founder, reflected on the outcome with shock and a deep sense of uncertainty.

“This moment forces the world, including Mexico, to rethink its relationship with the U.S.,” he said. “This moment, which really is the end of an era, the end of the U.S. hegemony, is also the beginning of a new chapter for us in Mexico.”

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