?I have said time and time again, Mexico will not pay for any wall,? Pe?a Nieto told the nation in his short video statement on Wednesday night. Mexico?s president has once again declared that ?Mexico will not pay for any wall? but stopped short of cancelling a visit to Washington after Donald Trump signed executive orders that include building the border barrier. Many in the political class had called on Pe?a Nieto to cancel his meeting after Trump signed the executive order. Late on Wedneday a senior government official told the Associated Press that the Mexican president was ?considering? calling off the visit to Washington. Pe?a Nieto has consistently rejected Trump?s suggestion that Mexico will pay for the border wall and promised to put Mexico first in any negotiations.

Soon after, Mr. Pe?a Nieto officially announced that he would not attend, effectively beating Mr. Trump to the punch. By the time Mr. Pe?a Nieto invited Mr. Trump to Mexico for a visit during the American presidential campaign, his own image was as tarnished as the one Mr. Trump had painted of Mexico. ?Pe?a Nieto has made a superhuman effort,? said Jesus Silva-Herzog, a professor at the School of Government at Tecnol?gico de Monterrey. For Mr. Pe?a Nieto, the economics were particularly difficult. For months, Mr. Pe?a Nieto made his choice clear.