The Pacific coast port of Mazatlán as drawn by a German migrant. The port and the town's brewing industry were developed by German immigrants living there in the early 19th century.
German clergy and technical mining personnel arrived in colonial Mexico in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.[1] One of the first contacts between Germany and Mexico was via the scientific expedition of Prussian aristocrat Alexander von Humboldt, who arrived in Mexico in 1803 and remained for a year mapping Mexican topography, examining its mining sector, and studying its culture and history.
In the 19th century, Mexico had established diplomatic relations with a few German States and as early as 1826, Prussia had established a trade representative in Mexico. In 1833, Mexico assigned an ambassador in Berlin to Prussia.[2] Diplomatic relations between Mexico and a unified Germany were established on 23 January 1879.[2]
During the Second Mexican Empire and the reign of Maximilian I of Mexico, Germans were brought to Mexico to settle in Mexico's southern states, primarily in Yucatán.[3] In 1890, Mexican President Porfirio Díaz and German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck collaborated to bring 450 German families to the Mexican state of Chiapas where they settled in the town of Soconusco to develop the region's agriculture industry.[4] Several German migrants would immigrate to primarily northern Mexico and helped develop several towns such as the port of Mazatlán and Mexico's brewing industry.[5]
World War I
Zimmerman Telegram
During World War I (1914–1918) Mexico remained neutral. During this time, Mexico was preoccupied with its revolution (1910–1920) which took place the same time as World War I. In January 1917, British agents intercepted a telegram sent to German Ambassador to Mexico Heinrich von Eckardt by Arthur Zimmermann, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the German Empire. In the telegram, Germany proposed to Mexico that if the United States were to join the war, Mexico should join and side with the Central Powers. In appreciation, and if the Central Powers were to win, Mexico would recuperate the territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, which Mexico had lost in its war against the United States during the Mexican–American War in 1848. The telegram, known as the Zimmermann Telegram was intercepted when the telegram was being wired to the German embassy in Washington, DC, to be rerouted to Mexico City. Mexico eventually rejected the telegram and continued to remain neutral during the war.[6] However, this would lead to the American declaration of war against Germany during World War I.[7]
The German Empire had supported the Mexican government to distrupt the exports of American arms. The Germans would also promise Mexico they would send them arms and money if President Huerta would have a war with the United States and would be returned to power. These conspiracies would be found by the United States.[8]
The Ypiranga Incident was an Interception by the United States of a German ship named the SS Ypiranga that was carrying shipments of arms and ammunition that were going to supply the Mexican Government. When the U.S Navy captured it they forced the ship to turn back.[9]
If true or not, the possibility of Germans at the border in Mexico was reasonable enough for a strong U.S. presence on the border of Nogales. There was a report of 2 Germans being killed during the Battle of Ambos Nogales but no evidence or proof is shown.[10]
Spanish Civil War
During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), Mexico and Germany supported opposing sides of the conflict, with Mexico supporting the Republicans and Germany supporting the Nationalists. That put Mexico and Germany against each other and ultimately caused a largely-negative interaction between them.
After World War II, Mexico maintained diplomatic relations with both the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Mexico established an embassy in Berlin for East Germany in 1976 and an embassy in Cologne for West Germany in 1952, before transferring the embassy to Bonn in 1979.[12][13] In 1963, Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos became the first Mexican head-of-State to visit Germany (West Germany). In 1966, West German President Heinrich Lübke became the first German President to visit Mexico.[2]
After the reunification of Germany in 1990, Mexico established relations with the Federal Republic of Germany and in the year 2000, Mexico moved its embassy to its current location in Berlin.[12]
21st century
There have been several high-level visits between leaders of both nations. In June 2017, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, made an official visit to Mexico, and met with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. Both leaders reaffirmed the strength of the bilateral relationship, which is based on shared values such as democracy and the promotion of free trade. Both nations all focused on the joint collaboration in the defense of multilateralism, cooperation for sustainable development, attention to the migration phenomenon and the fight against climate change, among other issues.[14]
West German President Walter Scheel along with President José López Portillo in Mexico City; 1977.
President José López Portillo and West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher in Cancún; 1981.
East German General Secretary Erich Honecker with President José López Portillo; 1981.
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and President Vicente Fox in Mexico City; 2002.
President Felipe Calderón and Chancellor Angela Merkel in Los Cabos; 2012.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Enrique Peña Nieto in Paris; 2015.
Bilateral agreements
Both nations have signed several bilateral agreement such as an Agreement for the Protection of the Rights of Author of Musical Works (1954); Agreement on Reciprocity in Legal Aid (1956); Agreement of Air Transportation (1967); Agreement of Scientific and Technological Cooperation (1974); Agreement of Cultural Cooperation (1977); Agreement of Cooperation between both nations governments (1996); Agreement in Technical Cooperation (1997); Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (1998) and an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation and Tax Evasion in the Matter of Income and Wealth Taxes (2008).[18]
Migration
There is a sizable German origin community in Mexico that thrives and several prominent Mexican politicians, journalists, artists and actors are of German descent. There is also a Mennonite community in Mexico with approximately 100,000 members of predominantly German origin.[19]
Currently it is estimated that there are 1,200,000 Mexicans with partial German ancestry, mostly concentrated in the north of the country. [20]
In 1997, Mexico signed a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union (which includes Germany). In 2023, two-trade between both nations amounted to US$26.7 billion[21] Germany is Mexico's biggest trading partner within the European Union and fifth biggest globally. At the same time, Mexico is Germany's second biggest trading partner in Latin America (after Brazil). Germany's main exports to Mexico include: machinery, automobiles, chemical based products, pharmaceutical products and medical technology. Mexico's main exports to Germany include: automobiles and automotive parts, as well as products from the electronics industry.[21]
There are over 1,300 German companies based in Mexico. Several German multinational companies invest and operate in Mexico such as Audi, Bayer, BMW, Deutsche Bank, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens and Volkswagen (among others). Mexican multinational companies such as Cemex, Grupo Alfa, Nemak and Orbia (among others) operate in Germany.
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