Interventionists & Cynics

This article by Álvaro Delgado Gómez originally appeared in the July 21, 2025 edition of Sin Embargo.

No one from Morena or the Government of the Republic, not even President Claudia Sheinbaum herself, has commented on the dinner organized by Larry Rubin or the speech he gave, nor US Ambassador Ron Johnson’s, as if it hadn’t happened. However, what remains in motion is the plan to build a political party in Mexico that supports Trump and his policies.

Mexico City. Larry Rubin, president of the American Society , is an enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump, and the representative of the Republican Party in Mexico, and Gricha Raether, spokesman for the Democratic Party for several years, also defends the interests of the United States. Both Americans are building a political party Mexico Republicano here, despite the fact that Article 33 of the Constitution orders that “foreigners may not in any way interfere in the political affairs of the country.”

Raether is the general secretary and Rubin is the “general advisor” of Mexico Republicano, the political party project chaired by former PRI member Juan Iván Peña Neder, who denies that either violates the Constitution, because both Americans also hold Mexican nationality.

“They’re Mexican: Larry was born here (in Mexico City) and Gricha’s mother was born in Chihuahua,” says Peña Neder, who affirms that both are fully exercising their constitutional rights: “At least they’re not targeted by the DEA.”

And indeed, Rubin and Raether have dual nationality; they are Mexican, but both support the United States government, including the possibility of an invasion of Mexico, as the latter, who defines himself as “binational and Mexican by birth,” suggests.

In the event of a probable US military invasion of Mexico, what position would you adopt?

“Well, the position is irrelevant. By declaring the cartels terrorist organizations, you give them, from their perspective, the right to take direct action on national territory. It’s not an issue of sovereignty. It’s an issue of Mexico harboring organizations within its borders that threaten the health of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and they will seek to defend themselves, given that the government here doesn’t do much about it and there’s also collusion at the highest levels.”

Your argument is clear: When faced with the United States and Mexico, you opt for the United States and its invasive policy.

“That’s what you meant. It’s different. I choose the rule of law. I choose a North America free of terrorism. I choose peace and order in Mexico, no matter what.”

As president of the American Society, Rubin organized a dinner on Saturday the 12th in honor of the United States ambassador to Mexico, Roland Johnson—sponsored by the companies of magnate Ricardo Salinas Pliego—in whose speech he supported Trump’s threat to impose 30 percent tariffs on Mexican products if President Claudia Sheinbaum does not put an end to the cartels that manufacture the drugs consumed by millions of Americans.

“The letter sent from the White House to the President of Mexico underscores the urgency of the moment. It is not a threat, but a strategic warning. The 30 percent tariff that could be applied starting August 1 is a direct consequence of the lack of effective action on issues that impact not only trade but also the health and national security of the United States and Mexico,” he said.

The bellicose speech, in the same tone as Trump’s, was heard by Mexicans who were invited or paid around 5,000 pesos, including prominent members of the Mexican right such as Jorge Romero and Ricardo Anaya, president and coordinator of the senators of the National Action Party (PAN), former electoral advisor Lorenzo Córdova, former foreign minister José Ángel Gurría, businessman José Medina Mora, and announcers from Salinas Pliego’s companies.

But officials from Sheinbaum’s administration were also present, such as the Secretary of the Environment, Alicia Bárcena, the General Coordinator of the C5 of Mexico City, Salvador Guerrero Chiprés, as well as Morena deputies and senators, such as Sergio Mayer, Emmanuel Reyes, Waldo Fernández, and Yeidckol Polevski.

No one from Morena or the Mexican government, not even President Claudia Sheinbaum herself, has commented on the dinner organized by Rubin or the speech he and the Ambassador gave, as if it hadn’t happened. However, what remains in motion is the plan to build a political party in Mexico that supports Trump and his policies.

Like Viva México, the party project of actor Eduardo Verástegui, Mexico Republicano has an agenda openly aligned with Trump’s Republican Party from its very name onwards and, according to Peña Neder, will succeed in obtaining registration, although the state assemblies have not even begun.

Mexico Republicano opted to hold 20 of the 32 state assemblies, in which a minimum of 3,000 Mexicans must participate, but also must have at least 256,030 members.

“We haven’t even started assemblies (and we have) approximately 120,000 members,” says Peña Neder, who was a member of the PRI and, in 2006, supported Andrés Manuel López Obrador through the Citizen Networks of Manuel Camacho and Marcelo Ebrard.

After that year’s election, he worked in Felipe Calderón’s government with Undersecretary Abraham González Uyeda and left office amid a casino scandal. He was later imprisoned for rape of his wife, Talía Vázquez Alatorre.

Together with Elba Esther Gordillo, he founded the Redes Sociales Progresistas party in 2019, but was expelled due to disputes with Fernando González Sánchez, the professor’s son-in-law, and is now seeking registration as a Republican Mexico party, which is clearly pro-Donald Trump.

Are there really Mexicans who are enthusiastic about a political party like the one you’re building, one that’s an ally of Trump, an aggressor of Mexico?

“By the thousands. Mexico is larger than its regime, and it is under pressure, especially internal pressures that are beginning to form complex fissures.”