U.S. President Barack Obama is en route to Costa Rica, where he plans to meet with President Laura Chinchilla. The two leaders will discuss bilateral issues ahead of Saturday's Central American Forum on Sustainable Economic Development.
During his visit to Mexico earlier Friday, Obama said a "new Mexico is emerging" with a robust civil society and political parties that compete vigorously but also transfer power peacefully.
Speaking to a group of mostly students at Mexico's National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, he noted that young people were "the dream" that would help shape Mexico's future with their spirit and their willingness to change things that no longer work.
Obama said the U.S. and Mexico were "two equal partners," adding that distortions in both countries have created misunderstandings he hopes will be corrected. He vowed to reform the U.S. immigration system, which he says does not currently reflect American values and causes some people to "live in the shadows."
On Thursday in Mexico City, the president held talks with new Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. Obama said the U.S.-Mexican border is more secure now than it has been in years, but that more needs to be done.
