Israel–Mexico Relations

Israel–Mexico relations encompass diplomacy, trade, technology exchange, humanitarian assistance, and ties between Israel and Mexico’s Jewish community.[1][3] Political relations have also been affected by Mexico’s positions in international forums, most notably its 1975 vote for the UN resolution equating Zionism with racism and its later legal and diplomatic actions concerning the Israel–Hamas war.[4][5]

Economic exchange expanded after the free-trade agreement took effect in 2000. Cooperation has included technological and industrial research, water management, agriculture, aviation, communications, development assistance, and peaceful uses of outer space.[6][7] Israeli companies have established operations in Mexico, while bilateral agreements have facilitated the application of Israeli expertise in Mexican agriculture, manufacturing, and water infrastructure.[8][9]

The relationship has therefore not followed a single political course. Mexico abstained on the 1947 UN partition resolution and voted for Resolution 3379 in 1975.[10][4] During the war that began with the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack, Mexican policy combined condemnation of terrorism and acknowledgment of Israel’s right to self-defense with calls for restraint, legal proceedings, and support for a two-state solution.[5][11]

Before formal relations were established, Mexico participated in United Nations deliberations on the future of Palestine. On November 29, 1947, it abstained on General Assembly Resolution 181(II), which recommended partition of the British Mandate of Palestine. The resolution passed with 33 votes in favor, 13 against, and 10 abstentions.[10] Mexican Jewish advocacy surrounding the partition question included the Zionist Emergency Committee and the Emergency pro-Palestine Jewish Committee.[12]

Mexico recognized Israel on April 4, 1952, and diplomatic relations followed shortly afterward.[12] Other accounts likewise date full diplomatic relations to 1952.[1] A separate Jewish Virtual Library table lists an Israeli embassy in Mexico City from January 1950. Because that table does not explain whether the date represents a different diplomatic milestone, it should not be treated as the date of formal Mexican recognition.[13]

In August 1975, President Luis Echeverría made a three-day visit to Israel, the first by a Mexican president. His itinerary included historical and cultural sites, scientific and technological institutes, agricultural projects, and rural-development areas. Echeverría and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin concluded the visit by signing a joint communiqué and a trade agreement intended to expand commercial exchanges.[14] The communiqué recorded Mexico’s support for UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and called for a just and lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors.[14]

A major rupture followed later that year. On November 10, 1975, Mexico voted for General Assembly Resolution 3379, whose determination stated that “Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.” The resolution passed by 72 votes to 35, with 32 abstentions.[4][15] The 1978 American Jewish Year Book refers to a November 15 vote, but the contemporary resolution account and UN chronology establish November 10 as the adoption date.[14][4]

The vote prompted protests by Mexican Jews and a boycott of Mexico by American Jews and some Jewish organizations. President Echeverría sent former president Miguel Alemán to invite Jewish leaders to Mexico and dispatched Foreign Minister Emilio Rabasa to Israel. After meeting Israeli leaders, Rabasa publicly called Zionism “honorable,” while Echeverría told visiting Jewish representatives that Zionism and racism could not be equated.[4] The boycott coincided with a broader decline in Mexican tourism; the yearbook identified it as an important factor in the 1976 decline while also noting the US recession, rising prices, and competition from other destinations.[14]

Practical relations nevertheless continued. Israel’s foreign minister, Yigal Allon, received an official welcome in Mexico in 1976, and Mexican oil sales to Israel continued. Mexico purchased five Israeli Arava aircraft for $7 million, while a Mexican business delegation visited Israel to expand trade. El Al’s inaugural direct flight arrived in Mexico City on November 9, 1976.[14]

The General Assembly revoked the 1975 determination on December 16, 1991. Resolution 46/86 passed by 111 votes to 25, with 13 abstentions.[16] A Jewish Virtual Library account attributes a repeal proposal to President Carlos Salinas de Gortari in 1992, a chronology that conflicts with the documented 1991 adoption date.[12]

By 1984, American Jewish Committee background notes described bilateral relations as generally good. They reported a scientific, technological, and cultural cooperation agreement signed in Jerusalem and stated that Mexican oil supplied about 40 percent of Israel’s requirements at the time.[17] Relations continued to improve in the 1990s through cultural agreements, official visits, and Israeli technical advice in Mexican agricultural and industrial fields.[12]

The free-trade agreement became the central commercial framework. A Congressional Research Service account dates its signing to April 10, 2000, after two years of negotiations, and its entry into force to July 1, 2000.[18] A 2020 interview instead gave 1999 as the signing year.[19] A 2004 Globes report said four years had elapsed since the agreement was signed, which is consistent with a 2000 signing rather than a separate earlier date.[20]

The agreement covered 98.6 percent of agricultural goods and all industrial goods. Mexico received immediate duty-free access for 50 percent of its exports to Israel and tariff reductions for another 12 percent, while Israel received immediate duty-free access for about 72 percent of its exports to Mexico. Other barriers were scheduled for phased removal.[18] Its provisions addressed market access, rules of origin, customs procedures, emergency actions, competition policy, government procurement, dispute resolution, and the parties’ World Trade Organization obligations.[18]

Bilateral commerce had averaged less than $2 million annually through the end of the 1970s and about $25 million during the 1980s. It exceeded $169 million in 2001 and reached more than $362 million in 2004, with the balance strongly favoring Israeli exports during those years.[12] A 2004 delegation of representatives from about 20 Mexican companies explored cooperation in communications, agriculture, auto parts, consumer goods, real estate, and investment. Globes reported first-quarter Israeli exports to Mexico of $76.7 million and imports of $6.2 million.[20]

At a 2013 business seminar attended by 80 Israeli executives, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said bilateral trade had grown by 300 percent but remained equivalent to only one day of trade between Mexico and the United States. He called for more Israeli investment and highlighted the potential contribution of Israeli agricultural technology.[21]

Two-way trade was reported at $700 million in 2015, described as a 300 percent increase since the agreement.[22] In 2017, the American Jewish Committee also reported annual trade of $700 million and characterized Israel as Mexico’s largest Middle Eastern trade partner and second-largest foreign investor after the United States.[23] CTech reported 2019 goods trade of $779 million—$348 million in Israeli exports and $431 million in imports—as well as $125 million in services trade.[19] Israel’s trade mission gave a closely comparable total of $781 million.[8]

Technological cooperation developed alongside trade. The countries signed a technological cooperation agreement in 2013, according to an INSS analysis.[6] In December 2014, Mexico’s CONACYT and Israel’s Office of the Chief Scientist established an industrial research-and-development arrangement supporting joint projects in water management, desert agriculture, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, electronics, and communications.[7]

A 2007 water-cooperation agreement covered municipal-water treatment, leakage prevention, purification, and wastewater treatment. Israeli companies already operating in Mexico included firms specializing in irrigation, filtration, desalination, and water-control systems.[9] Israeli corporate operations have also included Teva and Amdocs facilities in Guadalajara and a Rivulis production plant in León.[8]

In 2018, Israeli desalination company Fluence announced a proposed $48 million plant at San Quintín, Baja California, designed to produce 5.8 million gallons of water per day and serve more than 100,000 residents. The announcement projected that the plant would become operational by 2021.[22]

High-level visits have repeatedly been used to deepen relations. The World Jewish Congress lists Israeli presidents Efraim Katzir, Moshe Katzav, and Shimon Peres as visitors to Mexico, although it does not provide dates.[1] Echeverría’s 1975 trip was the first visit to Israel by a Mexican president.[14]

In 2013, President Enrique Peña Nieto told a World Jewish Congress delegation: “We cherish our friendship with the State of Israel with whom we work closely on issues of common concern.” He also anticipated President Shimon Peres’s state visit to Mexico that November.[2]

Peña Nieto visited Israel in 2016, described by one account as the first official Mexican presidential visit since 2000.[12] In September 2017, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first sitting Israeli prime minister to visit Mexico and, according to contemporary accounts, Latin America.[23][22] He met Peña Nieto as the countries marked 65 years of diplomatic relations and discussed updating the free-trade agreement and expanding commerce.

The visit produced agreements concerning aviation, communications, development cooperation, and peaceful uses of outer space.[24] Israel also agreed to assist southern Mexican states affected by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake.[24]

After the separate September 19, 2017 earthquake, a 71-member Israeli Home Front Command delegation arrived at Mexico’s request. The team carried out search-and-rescue work and building-safety assessments; a later report said it surveyed 158 buildings, including hospitals, schools, kindergartens, and government offices.[25] The Israel Defense Forces and Israeli humanitarian organization ISRAID also sent supplies to areas affected in Oaxaca and Chiapas.[1]

Mexico’s Jewish community provides an additional people-to-people connection. During the 1967 Six-Day War, community members raised funds, collected clothing and medicines, donated blood, and volunteered to assist Israel. The number who traveled to Israel was comparatively small, but the mobilization strengthened communal ties with the Jewish state and broadened the role of Mexican Jewish institutions in organizing those relationships.[3] National Library of Israel collections further document state visits, journalism, and commercial contacts involving Mexican and Israeli figures.[26]

The relationship illustrates how Israeli ties in Latin America have developed through practical cooperation even when political disagreements persisted. Trade rose from averages measured in the low millions of dollars during the 1970s and 1980s to a reported $779 million in goods during 2019.[12][19] Israeli water, agricultural, manufacturing, medical, and communications technologies have given the relationship an applied economic dimension, while disaster assistance has made bilateral cooperation visible beyond official diplomacy.[9][1]

The Mexican Jewish community has also connected the two societies through advocacy, humanitarian support, education, and communal institutions. Its mobilization in 1967 demonstrated that bilateral relations operate through both governments and civil society, reinforcing links between Israel and an established Jewish community within Mexican public life.[3]

Mexico’s United Nations record has been a recurring source of attention. It abstained on partition in 1947, voted for Resolution 3379 in 1975, and saw that determination revoked by Resolution 46/86 in 1991.[10][4] The repeal passed 111 to 25, with 13 abstentions.[16] An INSS analysis of Latin American voting in 2009 and 2019 identifies Mexico among countries whose patterns changed, but the relevant passage does not specify its individual votes.[6]

In October 2016, Mexico’s UNESCO representative, Andrés Roemer, left the room during a vote concerning Jerusalem and Jewish ties to holy sites. He was dismissed on October 17 for failures that the Mexican government said included reporting and document-handling violations. Mexico subsequently changed its vote from support to abstention, citing the “undeniable link of the Jewish people to cultural heritage located in East Jerusalem.”[12]

Sources differ on Mexico’s recognition of Palestinian statehood. The Jewish Virtual Library says the Palestinian mission was elevated to embassy status in June 2023 but notes that Mexico’s foreign ministry had issued no official recognition statement and continued to list the office as a special delegation.[12] Britannica, by contrast, includes Mexico among countries that recognized Palestinian statehood before the end of 2024.[27] A March 2025 report concerning President Claudia Sheinbaum’s acceptance of envoy Nadya Rasheed’s credentials similarly stated that Mexico supported Palestinian admission to the United Nations but had not formally recognized Palestinian statehood.[28]

In October 2023, Mexico condemned the Hamas terrorist attack, called for international cooperation to prevent and punish terrorism, and acknowledged Israel’s right to self-defense under international law. It also condemned harm to civilians and called for peace and restraint.[5] President Andrés Manuel López Obrador subsequently said Mexico would not take sides or break relations with Israel.[11]

In January 2024, Mexico and Chile referred the situation involving Israel and Hamas to the International Criminal Court, citing alleged crimes within the court’s jurisdiction and support for accountability, a ceasefire, and a two-state solution.[11] In May, Mexico requested to intervene in South Africa’s International Court of Justice case against Israel under the Genocide Convention.[12] Mexico’s declaration characterized interpretation of the convention as an interest shared by every state party; the procedural filing was not a judicial finding that the allegations had been proven.[5]

On May 28, 2024, demonstrators clashed with police outside Israel’s embassy in Mexico City as the ICJ filing was announced. Protesters reportedly set fires and sprayed graffiti, and six police officers were injured.[5]

In October 2024, President Claudia Sheinbaum called for recognition of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, describing that position as longstanding Mexican policy. She condemned violence, said that “war will never lead to a good outcome,” and called for a more active United Nations role in pursuing peace.[29] In August 2025, about 1,000 people marched in Mexico City demanding an end to the Gaza war and the severing of Mexican diplomatic and cultural relations with Israel.[30]

Several chronologies differ among the sources. The UN resolution equating Zionism with racism was adopted on November 10, 1975, although the 1978 American Jewish Year Book refers to a November 15 Mexican vote.[14][4] Former Mexican deputy foreign minister Andrés Rozental later attributed Echeverría’s decision to political ambitions and said foreign-ministry officials had opposed it; this is an attributed retrospective explanation rather than a fact established by the voting record.[31]

The strongest official account dates the free-trade agreement’s signing to April 10, 2000, while a 2020 interview gave 1999.[18][19] The 2004 Globes report does not establish an earlier signing date: it said that four years had elapsed since the agreement was signed, which accords with the 2000 chronology.[20]

Recognition of Palestinian statehood remains described inconsistently. One account reports no formal Mexican recognition statement, while Britannica treats Mexico as having recognized Palestinian statehood.[12][27] Acceptance of an envoy’s credentials, elevation of a diplomatic mission, support for UN membership, and formal recognition should therefore not be treated as interchangeable.

Mexico’s ICC referral and ICJ intervention are diplomatic and legal actions, not judicial determinations that the underlying allegations have been proven. Accounts of Mexican policy after October 7 likewise document multiple elements: condemnation of the Hamas attack and terrorism, acknowledgment of Israel’s right to self-defense, calls for restraint and peace, and subsequent recourse to international courts.[5][11]