Andrés Manuel López Obrador in the context of Islas Marías

Bilateral relations between the various countries of Latin America and the United States of America have been multifaceted and complex, at times defined by strong regional cooperation and at others filled with economic and political tension and rivalry. Although relations between the U.S. government and most of Latin America were limited prior to the late 1800s, for most of the past century, the United States has unofficially regarded parts of Latin America as within its sphere of influence, and for much of the Cold War (1947–1991), vied with the Soviet Union.

The political context evolved again in the 2000s, with the election in several South American countries of socialist governments. This "pink tide" thus saw the successive elections of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela (1998), Lula in Brazil (2002), Néstor Kirchner in Argentina (2003), Tabaré Vázquez in Uruguay (2004), Evo Morales in Bolivia (2005), Michelle Bachelet in Chile (2006), Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua (2006), Rafael Correa in Ecuador (2006), Fernando Lugo in Paraguay (2008), José Mujica in Uruguay (2009), Ollanta Humala in Peru (2011), Luis Guillermo Solís in Costa Rica (2014), Salvador Sánchez Cerén in El Salvador (2014), and Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico (2018). Although these leaders vary in their policies and attitude towards both Washington, D.C. and neoliberalism, while the states they govern also have different agendas and long-term historic tendencies, which can lead to rivalry and open contempt between themselves, they seem to have agreed on refusing the ALCA and on following a regional integration without the United States' overseeing the process. In particular, Chávez and Morales seem more disposed to ally together, while Kirchner and Lula, who has been criticized by the left-wing in Brazil, including by the Movimento dos Sem Terra (MST) landless peasants movement (who, however, did call to vote for him on his second term), are seen as more centered. The state of Bolivia also has seen some friction with Brazil, as well as Chile. Nouriel Roubini, professor of economics at New York University, said in a May 2006 interview: "On one side, you have a number of administrations that are committed to moderate economic reform. On the other, you've had something of a backlash against the Washington Consensus [a set of liberal economic policies that Washington-based institutions urged Latin American countries to follow, including privatization, trade liberalization and fiscal discipline] and some emergence of populist leaders." In the same way, although a leader such as Chávez verbally attacked the George W. Bush administration as much as the latter attacked him, and claimed to be following a democratic socialist Bolivarian Revolution, the geo-political context has changed a lot since the 1970s. Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, thus stated: for influence in the Western Hemisphere.

Mexico's law enforcement operates with three distinct powers of authority and jurisdiction: federal, state and municipal. The Federal Police, which oversaw nationwide police operations, was dissolved in 2019 by president Andrés Manuel López Obrador due to corruption, links with organized crimes and similar issues. The Mexican National Guard replaced the Federal Police.

The National Regeneration Movement (Spanish: Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional), commonly referred to by its syllabic abbreviation Morena ([moˈɾena]), is a left-wing political party in Mexico. Founded in 2011 by Andrés Manuel López Obrador as a civil association and registered as a political party in 2014, it emerged from López Obrador's break with the Party of the Democratic Revolution. Since its formation, Morena has grown rapidly to become the dominant political force in the country.

Morena's platform combines elements of left-wing populism, progressivism, and social democracy. It opposes neoliberal economic policies and supports expanded social welfare programs, increased public investment in infrastructure, and state control over strategic industries such as energy, oil, and electricity. Drawing substantial backing from working-class voters, rural communities, the urban poor, and regions historically underserved by federal investment, Morena positions itself as an alternative to the long-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the conservative National Action Party (PAN).

Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (Spanish: [feˈlipe kaldeˈɾon] ; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician and lawyer who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 2006 to 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 and 2004. He was a member of the National Action Party (Partido Acción Nacional, PAN) for 30 years before quitting the party in November 2018.

Calderón held positions as National President of the PAN, Federal Deputy, and Secretary of Energy in Vicente Fox's administration. He served in the previous administration's cabinet before resigning to run for president and receiving his party's candidacy. In the 2006 presidential election, he was the PAN candidate. After a contentious campaign and a controversial electoral procedure, the Federal Electoral Institute's official results gave Calderón the lead (0.6% of total votes). above PRD candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador. While López Obrador and the PRD disputed the results and called for a complete recount of the votes, Calderón's victory was confirmed months later by the Federal Electoral Tribunal.

General elections were held in Mexico on 2 June 2024. Voters elected a new president to serve a six-year term, all 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies, and all 128 members of the Senate of the Republic. These elections took place concurrently with the 2024 state elections.

Claudia Sheinbaum, a member of the left-wing political party Morena, was widely regarded by her party as the top contender to succeed President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and ultimately secured the nomination of the ruling coalition, Sigamos Haciendo Historia. Xóchitl Gálvez emerged as the frontrunner of Fuerza y Corazón por México following a surge in popularity due to criticisms from López Obrador. Citizens' Movement, the only national party without a coalition, nominated Jorge Máynez. This was the first general election in Mexico's history in which most contenders for the country's presidency were women.

The Federal Police (Spanish: Policía Federal, PF), formerly known as the Federal Preventive Police (Policía Federal Preventiva) and sometimes referred to in the U.S. as "Federales", was a Mexican national police force formed in 1999. In 2019, it was incorporated into the National Guard and operated under the authority of Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection.

The Federal Police was formed through the merger of four previously independent federal police agencies — the Federal Highway Police, the Fiscal Police, the Investigation and National Security Center, and the Mexican Army's 3rd Military Police Brigade — and was initially referred to as the Federal Preventive Police. Throughout its 20-year existence, the Federal Police was dogged by allegations of widespread corruption and abuse allegations which President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said influenced his administration's decision to disband the force. Since its disbandment, two high-ranking commanders have been arrested for offences they committed while leading the Federal Police. The police force was 1,870,406,000 pesos in debt to creditors, members of the public, and former employees when it was disbanded.