Il passato come strategia: il ruolo della storia nelle relazioni tra Messico e Stati Uniti

History has always been an indispensable foundation for the legitimisation of state policies, providing continuity and justification for strategic choices. In the Mexico-US relationship, recourse to the past has shaped the legal system and political practice, from colonial times to the recent orientations of the Trump administration. To fully grasp this continuity, it is essential to analyse the legal roots of New Spain, where Castilian law, adapted to the peculiarities of the New World, served to consolidate colonial power and regulate economic and social relations. The colonial regulatory system was set in a context of bitter disputes between European powers, where control of trade routes and overseas resources was the linchpin of international balances. The agreements made in the 17th and 18th centuries prefigured what would become the spheres of influence in the New World, outlining the boundaries of power and foreshadowing the dynamics of global hegemony. This paper explores how the historical narrative has been instrumentalised to justify the exercise of domination in the Americas, demonstrating the everlasting relevance of such strategies in the consolidation of political and legal power.