Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is all set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, but his upcoming visit to the White House was met with controversy.

Lopez Obrador and Trump's meeting will mark the taking into effect of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) last July 1.

In a statement released on July 1, Trump said he appreciated the efforts of Mexico and Canada "to ensure that North America is strengthening its economic ties."

Trump noted that he looks forward to meeting the Mexican president at the White House.

He also said that 'trade, health, and other issues central to regional prosperity and security" will be talked about in the meeting, the Bloomberg reported.

The meeting on Wednesday will be the first one between the two presidents since Lopez Obrador took office in December 2018.

But this is not the first time Trump welcomed another president to the White House during the pandemic. Polish President Andrzej Duda also met with Trump last week.

In 18 months that Lopez Obrador had been president, he has not travelled abroad, said a report from The Hill.

The White House has set up health safety measures for visitors. Coronavirus tests are done to anyone who comes in close contact with Trump or Vice President Mike Pence.

Lopez Obrador's Approval Ratings Dropped

The scheduled meeting with Trump comes amid the dropped of Lopez Obrador's approval ratings over his handling of the Mexican economy during the pandemic.

During his campaign in 2017, the Mexican president attacked Trump's "politics of hate" and border wall, reported the Los Angeles Times.

In Trump's 2015 presidential bid, he mocked Mexican immigrants and called them drug dealers, criminals and "rapists," adding an assumption that "some" are good people.

But last Friday, the Mexican president said he will go with his head high as a "[representative] of this great people and this great country." Some Mexicans don't see it that way. Critics decried the meeting.

Many said the president is making a big mistake by going. They said Lopez Obrador is helping Trump politically as he faces a tough reelection campaign.

Cristian Corte is one of the Mexicans, who are nervous to vent anger about the trip.

"I want him to tell Trump to stop stepping all over us and to treat everyone as equals," Corte told the NPR.

Professor Denise Dresser of Mexico City said Lopez Obrador's move is "risky." Many Mexicans view Trump as racist and has them put down.

For Dresser, Lopez Obrador's meeting with Trump will make all of the offenses done to Mexicans seems okay.

Others say the president is using the trip to distract Mexicans from domestic troubles and the increased rate of infections from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Last week, the country went beyond the recorded number of coronavirus deaths in Spain. Like Trump, the Mexican president does not wear a mask in public and chose to open the economy over heavy lockdown measures.

He also said he does not need to get tested for the virus. This is despite officials near him testing positive.

To add to the risks of travelling, he will be flying commercially to the White House. He refused to use the presidential plane and called it too extravagant.

Without the direct flight, he will have to stop in a major U.S. city and land the night before his meeting with Trump. He will have to get tested in the U.S. too.

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