Mexican President Felipe Calderon will be honored at the Foreign Policy Association's 8th annual World Leadership Forum in New York City on September 25th. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet will be honored at the New York Democracy Forum Dinner the evening before. See here for more details, including registration information.
An article I authored examining Mexico's “Oportunidades” anti-poverty initiative and its influence on New York City's new “Opportunity NYC” program, is featured on the Foreign Policy Association's website. Oportunidades is Mexico's conditional cash transfer program that has had considerable success in addressing poverty over the past ten years. Now, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has […]
Pledging to “transform Mexico,” President Felipe Calderon this weekend delivered his first State of the Union address. He vowed to continue using the military in fighting the drug war and highlighted economic achievements, including the creation of 618,000 jobs since January. The President also advocated reforms in the tax system and election laws, with the […]
The Foreign Policy Association's “Great Decisions” 2007 Fall Update on Mexico can be found here. The update includes a summary of President Calderon's first six months in office.
The leaders of Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. concluded a two-day summit focusing on issues such as trade, the environment, and border security. Presidents Bush and Calderon discussed a joint plan to combat drug trafficking on both sides of the border. The leaders also met with business executives from across the continent and agreed to block […]
In the first 6 months of the year, Mexican immigrants sent $11.4 billion to their native country, according to estimates by the Central Bank of Mexico. That is about the same as last year, which is seen as a significant slowdown, since earlier figures grew by 10% each year, reflecting population growth. Overall, 64% of […]
The stars of the critically-acclaimed film “Y Tu Mama Tambien” are turning their attention to social injustices in Mexico. Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna held a gala dinner in Mexico City to raise money for the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights, and Witness, an organization started by singer Peter Gabriel that promotes […]
The results are in for elections across three states, with a mixed showing for the major parties. In Baja California, President Calderon's National Action Party (PAN) won the governor's race, four of five mayor's races, and a majority in the state legislature. The only candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to win a mayor's race was Hugo […]
President Calderon has named new ambassadors to Venezuela and Cuba, in an effort to improve diplomatic relations with the two socialist regimes. Mexico's current ambassador to Colombia, Jesus Mario Chacon Carrillo, will head to Venezuela, filling a two-year vacancy in the top diplomatic post there. Calderon has also asked Congress to send Gabriel Jimenez to Cuba, […]
The Council on Foreign Relations hosted a discussion titled “Biofuels in the Americas” featuring David J. Rothkopf and C. Ford Runje. Participants discussed the drawbacks of corn-based ethanol as well as the opportunity that Latin American countries have to diversify their economies via the energy sector by developing biofuel industries. Listen to an audio podcast […]
National Public Radio (NPR) has a report on the tension that is once again growing in Oaxaca, where leftist groups continue to call for the ouster of the Governor. To listen to the report, “Deep Divisions Remain in Oaxaca,” click here.
The Economist recently profiled Elba Esther Gordillo (“'the teacher’ holds back the pupils“), the head of Mexico's National Educational Workers’ Union, Latin America's largest union with a membership of 1.4 million teachers across the country. Ms. Gordillo's political power, due in large part to the size of the teachers’ union, leads the Economist to claim […]
Contributed by Rich Basas of FPA's Migration Blog: This past week the New York Times reporter Marc Lacey did a report on the ever-growing problem of HIV entering smaller communities in Mexico. He found that much of the problem comes from Migrant workers who earn much of their wages in the US and often come […]
Louis E.V. Nevaer reports in the San Francisco Chronicle that American guns being smuggled into Mexico are helping fuel drug-related violence there. Mexico's military is searching southbound traffic along the border for shipments of weapons. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez acknowledged the problem last month in Mexico saying, “We are concerned about the number of weapons coming into […]
FPA's Migration blog includes an entry of interest to those following migration issues that relate to Mexico. The posting, “A Day Without a Mexican?” can be viewed here.