Mexico Center Conference Proceedings

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Mexico's 2003 Mid-Term Elections: Implications for the LIX Legislature and Party Consolidation (proceedings), September 15-16, 2003
(2003-09-16) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
Five sessions over the course of a day and a half. Our topics include a discussion of the process and outcome of the mid-term elections, voting behavior in these elections, and the implications of the results for politics in the legislature as well as the vitality of the main political parties.
The Death Penalty and Mexico-U.S. Relations: Historical Continuities and Present Dilemmas (proceedings), April 14, 2004
(2004-04-14) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
These ongoing debates, Texas’ position in the frontline of Mexican nationals on death row, together with Mexico’s recent legal battle at the International Court of Justice, has prompted the Mexican Center at the Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and the UT School of Law of the University of Texas at Austin to convene a bi-national symposium, in April 2004, to understand better Mexico’s stance on capital punishment from both contemporary and historical perspectives. The symposium brought together academics, lawyers, international relations policy analysts, Texas public officials, the media and the general public in order to analyze the death penalty’s place within Mexican history, and to review the contemporary debate.
The End of Public Space in the Latin American City? (proceedings), March 4-5, 2004
(2004-03-05) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
This Research Workshop proposes to explore controversial debates about the extent to which the public space, and access to it, is being eroded in contemporary Latin American cities. Participants will be invited to discuss if or how public spaces –interpreted broadly -- are being eroded or reshaped by neo-liberalism, by the progressive withdrawal of the state from traditional arenas of social policy with or without replacement by civil organisations, by changes to consumption patterns, planning policies or globalisation. From various disciplinary and research perspectives, participants will discuss the extent, pace and driving forces that shape access to spaces that were, in the past, arguably more truly “public” (or were they?). Such spaces include: plazas and parks; the street and thoroughfares; the marketplace (malls and shopping districts); transport systems; public housing and public education; and spaces of entertainment and recreation. Examined more broadly, public space is being recast as an outcome of the declining role of the state, and the pervasive shift from public to private provision of social goods. As such, new axes of social exclusion are becoming entrenched, some elements of which are clearly spatial, while others are less obvious.
The State of the UNAM and the Contemporary Challenges Facing Higher Education in Mexico (poster), March 20, 2002
(2002-03-20) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
Remittances, the Matricula Consular, and Financial Services used by Mexican migrants in Central Texas
(0000-00-00) Lozano Ascencio, Fernando
Women in Contemporary Mexican Politics II (proceedings), April 12-13, 1996
(1996-04-13) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
The April 12-13, 1996 conference, sponsored by the Ford Foundation-Mexico City and the Mexican Center of ILAS, with additional support from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Institute of Latin American Studies, focused on women's political participation, local and regional politics, and affirmative action. Many of the same Mexican politicians, party officials, grassroots leaders, and academics as last year, in addition to several prominent new faces, gathered to discuss these topics in the "neutral" space provided by the U.S. academic location. Despite the current legal battle regarding affirmative action at the University of Texas, the Mexican participants welcomed the opportunity to continue their discussions away from Mexican journalists, party debates, and personal interruptions.
New Federalism, State and Local Government in Mexico (proceedings), October 25-26, 1996
(1996-10-26) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
The specific aims of this research conference are to explore many of these issues in greater depth, so that scholars might share their insights with public officials, politicians and others who are in the vanguard of creating this new federalism. These issues are clearly embedded in the program (see the end of this Memoria for a copy). First we propose to examine new federalism in comparative perspective, with a view to exploring other countries' attempts to decentralize and how the constant tension between centralism and communitarianism has been resolved elsewhere (if it has). Second, we will examine how new federalism impacts upon inter-governmental relations, according different roles to the different levels of government, in effect "rendering unto Ceasar that which is Ceasar's". Third, we will look at intra-government relations: the separation and reinvigoration of powers; the attempts to make those powers more accountable etc.
Olmec: The Origins of Ancient Mexican Civilization (program), November 20-21, 2008
(2008-11-21) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
In fall 2008, the Mexican Center of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies will receive as a gift from the Universidad Veracruzana at Xalapa, Mexico, a full-scale stone reproduction of an Olmec colossal head. San Lorenzo Monument 1 "El Rey" is considered a signature piece of pre-Columbian Olmec culture and a world-class art object that represents New World civilization as emblematically as the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán or the ruins of Machu Picchu. The arrival of this monument at the University of Texas presents an opportune moment for LLILAS to host a major conference that focuses on the monuments and symbolism of the ancient Olmec, as well as on their place within the primary civilizations of both the Old and New Worlds. The conference Olmec: The Origins of Ancient Mexican Civilization will take place November 20-21, 2008, at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center on the UT campus. In contrast to a public image that identifies the Olmec (1500-400 BCE) as merely an enigmatic people who sculpted colossal stone heads of unknown gods and carved exquisite jade figurines, current scholarship recognizes Olmec culture as the foundation of civilization in Mesoamerica. Unquestionably, the Olmec not only carved magnificent monolithic public monuments, but they also originated the first inter-Mesoamerican art style. Recent discoveries in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, strongly suggest that the Olmec even may have independently invented a system of hieroglyphic writing around 1000 BCE. The impetus for this symposium is the recognition of ritual meaning and the presentation of archaeological and iconographic interpretations within the sculptural and symbolic corpus of the Mesoamerican Middle and Late Formative Periods. Papers presented in the symposium will propose interpretations of archaeological materials as well as specific symbols, and will identify specific ritual costumes and accoutrements within Olmec-style imagery in several mediums. Evidence also will be presented of interaction between the Olmec heartland and other sites during the same period. We hope that the symposium also will provide a useful forum for the discussion of the role of ritual and symbolism as a unifying ideology within the diverse political geography of the Mesoamerican Formative Period. Many of the symposium papers will concentrate on iconographic data from the Olmec heartland, while others will focus on objects created in the Olmec style from other Mesoamerican geographical areas. All events are free and open to the public. Presentations will be made in Spanish and English, with simultaneous translation provided.
Housing Production & Infrastructure in the Colonias of Texas and Mexico: Towards a Cross Border Dialogue (proceedings), May 5-6, 1995
(1995-05-06) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
The inspiration for this conference and for the two-semester LBJ School Policy Research Project from which it derives began with a Governor's Task Force meeting on the Colonias held here in Austin some three years ago. Indeed, many here today were at that meeting which brought together a mixedconstituency group of academics, public officials, non-governmental organization representatives, religious and other leaders. My presence at that meeting was as one who then knew very little about Texa s "Colonias", but had studied and advised Mexican governments over twenty years on the parallel and much more widespread phenomenon of illegal urban growth and so-called irregular settlements in Mexico (also called colonias). Yet I was surp rised to discover that Texas appeared to be "rediscovering the wheel" in its response to the existence and expansion of its colonia problem. Many researchers and public officials -- invariably in good faith -- were seeking to understand the underl ying causes and nature of colonia growth. They were asking how public policy might respond to colonia land developers? How to effectively address land title ambiguities and insecurities? How to provide essential services of water, power, public transport, and social service infrastructure to low-income and lowdensity populations? How to engage with these settlement populations and with the community development organizations that had evolved within them?
Olmec: The Origins of Ancient Mexican Civilization (poster), November 20-21, 2008
(2008-11-21) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
In fall 2008, the Mexican Center of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies will receive as a gift from the Universidad Veracruzana at Xalapa, Mexico, a full-scale stone reproduction of an Olmec colossal head. San Lorenzo Monument 1 "El Rey" is considered a signature piece of pre-Columbian Olmec culture and a world-class art object that represents New World civilization as emblematically as the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán or the ruins of Machu Picchu. The arrival of this monument at the University of Texas presents an opportune moment for LLILAS to host a major conference that focuses on the monuments and symbolism of the ancient Olmec, as well as on their place within the primary civilizations of both the Old and New Worlds. The conference Olmec: The Origins of Ancient Mexican Civilization will take place November 20-21, 2008, at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center on the UT campus. In contrast to a public image that identifies the Olmec (1500-400 BCE) as merely an enigmatic people who sculpted colossal stone heads of unknown gods and carved exquisite jade figurines, current scholarship recognizes Olmec culture as the foundation of civilization in Mesoamerica. Unquestionably, the Olmec not only carved magnificent monolithic public monuments, but they also originated the first inter-Mesoamerican art style. Recent discoveries in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, strongly suggest that the Olmec even may have independently invented a system of hieroglyphic writing around 1000 BCE. The impetus for this symposium is the recognition of ritual meaning and the presentation of archaeological and iconographic interpretations within the sculptural and symbolic corpus of the Mesoamerican Middle and Late Formative Periods. Papers presented in the symposium will propose interpretations of archaeological materials as well as specific symbols, and will identify specific ritual costumes and accoutrements within Olmec-style imagery in several mediums. Evidence also will be presented of interaction between the Olmec heartland and other sites during the same period. We hope that the symposium also will provide a useful forum for the discussion of the role of ritual and symbolism as a unifying ideology within the diverse political geography of the Mesoamerican Formative Period. Many of the symposium papers will concentrate on iconographic data from the Olmec heartland, while others will focus on objects created in the Olmec style from other Mesoamerican geographical areas. All events are free and open to the public. Presentations will be made in Spanish and English, with simultaneous translation provided.
Mexico.U.S. Migration: Rural Transformation and Development (program), April 9-10, 2008
(2008-04-10) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
The purpose of this conference is to bring together international scholars, policymakers, and civil society to explore emerging thought and ideas on the intersection between migration, rural development, and social policy. Participants will share recent trends and research on Mexico-U.S. migration, and related economic, social, cultural and political transformations occurring in rural communities of both nations. Rural places and their inhabitants have been subject to, as well as agents of, processes of globalization and economic liberalization. This has resulted in marked regional asymmetries, highly differentiated local responses, and reconfigurations of social, familial and economic relations. With the .new geography. of Mexican migration to the U.S., a growing number of migrants are settling in rural places in nontraditional destinations such as the American Southeast and Midwest. In Mexico, there has been notable growth in emigration from marginalized, and often indigenous, nontraditional origin southern states such as Veracruz, Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Yucatan, among others. Rural communities on both sides of the border are increasingly interconnected, and interdependent, through the flow of people, money, products, information, ideas, beliefs, and cultural practices. Current immigration policy fails to recognize the intertwined future of rural places on both sides of the border, tied through dependency on either labor or remittances. This represents lost opportunities in the U.S. and in Mexico. This conference will serve as a catalyst for meaningful dialogue on future policy, as well as research and development initiatives, in both Mexico and the U.S. that are aimed at minimizing the negative impacts and maximizing the potential benefits of migration in both rural sending and receiving communities. This forum is also a venue for exploring potential innovative approaches that would provide rural Mexican origin communities with locally based opportunities to improve quality of life, as an alternative to emigration. Indeed it is our hope that the meetings will serve as a point of departure for future collaborative binational research, development, and policy initiatives on migration and rural development in Mexico and the United States. As part of the conference program, and in partnership with Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin.s foremost Mexican art venue, we present Miracles on the Border, an exhibition of retablos created by migrants in which they portray their experiences living and working on both sides of the border. These small, colorful paintings on metal were collected by migration expert Jorge Durand over the years as he conducted research in the field. Professor Durand of the Universidad de Guadalajara will be the conference.s keynote speaker and will deliver his address on agricultural laborers and migration at Mexic-Arte Museum on Wednesday, April 9, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. A reception, free and open to the public, will follow. The exhibition will run through May 15, 2008. It is co-organized by Rebecca Torres, Harrington Fellow, Department of Geography, and Bryan Roberts, Director of LLILAS.
Olmec: The Origins of Ancient Mexican Civilization (biographies), November 20-21, 2008
(2008-11-21) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
In fall 2008, the Mexican Center of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies will receive as a gift from the Universidad Veracruzana at Xalapa, Mexico, a full-scale stone reproduction of an Olmec colossal head. San Lorenzo Monument 1 "El Rey" is considered a signature piece of pre-Columbian Olmec culture and a world-class art object that represents New World civilization as emblematically as the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán or the ruins of Machu Picchu. The arrival of this monument at the University of Texas presents an opportune moment for LLILAS to host a major conference that focuses on the monuments and symbolism of the ancient Olmec, as well as on their place within the primary civilizations of both the Old and New Worlds. The conference Olmec: The Origins of Ancient Mexican Civilization will take place November 20-21, 2008, at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center on the UT campus. In contrast to a public image that identifies the Olmec (1500-400 BCE) as merely an enigmatic people who sculpted colossal stone heads of unknown gods and carved exquisite jade figurines, current scholarship recognizes Olmec culture as the foundation of civilization in Mesoamerica. Unquestionably, the Olmec not only carved magnificent monolithic public monuments, but they also originated the first inter-Mesoamerican art style. Recent discoveries in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, strongly suggest that the Olmec even may have independently invented a system of hieroglyphic writing around 1000 BCE. The impetus for this symposium is the recognition of ritual meaning and the presentation of archaeological and iconographic interpretations within the sculptural and symbolic corpus of the Mesoamerican Middle and Late Formative Periods. Papers presented in the symposium will propose interpretations of archaeological materials as well as specific symbols, and will identify specific ritual costumes and accoutrements within Olmec-style imagery in several mediums. Evidence also will be presented of interaction between the Olmec heartland and other sites during the same period. We hope that the symposium also will provide a useful forum for the discussion of the role of ritual and symbolism as a unifying ideology within the diverse political geography of the Mesoamerican Formative Period. Many of the symposium papers will concentrate on iconographic data from the Olmec heartland, while others will focus on objects created in the Olmec style from other Mesoamerican geographical areas. All events are free and open to the public. Presentations will be made in Spanish and English, with simultaneous translation provided.
Olmec: The Origins of Ancient Mexican Civilization (dedication), November 20-21, 2008
(2008-11-21) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
In fall 2008, the Mexican Center of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies will receive as a gift from the Universidad Veracruzana at Xalapa, Mexico, a full-scale stone reproduction of an Olmec colossal head. San Lorenzo Monument 1 "El Rey" is considered a signature piece of pre-Columbian Olmec culture and a world-class art object that represents New World civilization as emblematically as the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán or the ruins of Machu Picchu. The arrival of this monument at the University of Texas presents an opportune moment for LLILAS to host a major conference that focuses on the monuments and symbolism of the ancient Olmec, as well as on their place within the primary civilizations of both the Old and New Worlds. The conference Olmec: The Origins of Ancient Mexican Civilization will take place November 20-21, 2008, at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center on the UT campus. In contrast to a public image that identifies the Olmec (1500-400 BCE) as merely an enigmatic people who sculpted colossal stone heads of unknown gods and carved exquisite jade figurines, current scholarship recognizes Olmec culture as the foundation of civilization in Mesoamerica. Unquestionably, the Olmec not only carved magnificent monolithic public monuments, but they also originated the first inter-Mesoamerican art style. Recent discoveries in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, strongly suggest that the Olmec even may have independently invented a system of hieroglyphic writing around 1000 BCE. The impetus for this symposium is the recognition of ritual meaning and the presentation of archaeological and iconographic interpretations within the sculptural and symbolic corpus of the Mesoamerican Middle and Late Formative Periods. Papers presented in the symposium will propose interpretations of archaeological materials as well as specific symbols, and will identify specific ritual costumes and accoutrements within Olmec-style imagery in several mediums. Evidence also will be presented of interaction between the Olmec heartland and other sites during the same period. We hope that the symposium also will provide a useful forum for the discussion of the role of ritual and symbolism as a unifying ideology within the diverse political geography of the Mesoamerican Formative Period. Many of the symposium papers will concentrate on iconographic data from the Olmec heartland, while others will focus on objects created in the Olmec style from other Mesoamerican geographical areas. All events are free and open to the public. Presentations will be made in Spanish and English, with simultaneous translation provided.
Transitions in the Cuban Revolution (poster), February 21-22, 2008
(2008-02-22) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
This conference will bring together some of the leading scholars on Cuba to elucidate and analyze transitions in the Revolution, as well as its implications for human interactions, creative activities, and relationships of national and international power. A main component in the discussion will be the current challenges presented in the U.S.-Cuba relationship and its impact on the entire region. This year marks the forty-eighth anniversary of the Revolution that brought Fidel and Raúl Castro to power in 1959. Though in the interim Cuba has passed through the changes and transitions that historical forces impose on all societies. The revolutionary process itself introduced some of those changes, such as land reform, the literacy campaign, and the struggle against the counterrevolution in the 1960s, as well as the military campaigns in Africa in the 1970s. Other transitions came about as a result of international conditions, the U.S. economic blockade of the 1960s, the reliance on Eastern Bloc trade in the 1970s and 1980s, and the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Oftentimes changes resulted from more subtle, bottom-up causality. Cubans in the street and at work had to design new strategies for accommodating the impact of emigration, privatization, militarization, Sovietization and de-Sovietization, and the ever-present legacy of slavery. Ordinary Cubans responded by offering or withholding participation to the state and by giving creative expression though music and dance. Quite clearly, a single narrative cannot suffice to explain the complexities and nuances of how the Revolution evolved as one event-filled decade followed upon another. The Revolution has always been in the process of becoming, whether viewed from the podiums of power or in the everyday relationships that people conduct at the grassroots level.
Transitions in the Cuban Revolution (biographies), February 21-22, 2008
(2008-02-22) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
This conference will bring together some of the leading scholars on Cuba to elucidate and analyze transitions in the Revolution, as well as its implications for human interactions, creative activities, and relationships of national and international power. A main component in the discussion will be the current challenges presented in the U.S.-Cuba relationship and its impact on the entire region. This year marks the forty-eighth anniversary of the Revolution that brought Fidel and Raúl Castro to power in 1959. Though in the interim Cuba has passed through the changes and transitions that historical forces impose on all societies. The revolutionary process itself introduced some of those changes, such as land reform, the literacy campaign, and the struggle against the counterrevolution in the 1960s, as well as the military campaigns in Africa in the 1970s. Other transitions came about as a result of international conditions, the U.S. economic blockade of the 1960s, the reliance on Eastern Bloc trade in the 1970s and 1980s, and the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Oftentimes changes resulted from more subtle, bottom-up causality. Cubans in the street and at work had to design new strategies for accommodating the impact of emigration, privatization, militarization, Sovietization and de-Sovietization, and the ever-present legacy of slavery. Ordinary Cubans responded by offering or withholding participation to the state and by giving creative expression though music and dance. Quite clearly, a single narrative cannot suffice to explain the complexities and nuances of how the Revolution evolved as one event-filled decade followed upon another. The Revolution has always been in the process of becoming, whether viewed from the podiums of power or in the everyday relationships that people conduct at the grassroots level.
Transitions in the Cuban Revolution (program), February 21-22, 2008
(2008-02-22) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
This conference will bring together some of the leading scholars on Cuba to elucidate and analyze transitions in the Revolution, as well as its implications for human interactions, creative activities, and relationships of national and international power. A main component in the discussion will be the current challenges presented in the U.S.-Cuba relationship and its impact on the entire region. This year marks the forty-eighth anniversary of the Revolution that brought Fidel and Raúl Castro to power in 1959. Though in the interim Cuba has passed through the changes and transitions that historical forces impose on all societies. The revolutionary process itself introduced some of those changes, such as land reform, the literacy campaign, and the struggle against the counterrevolution in the 1960s, as well as the military campaigns in Africa in the 1970s. Other transitions came about as a result of international conditions, the U.S. economic blockade of the 1960s, the reliance on Eastern Bloc trade in the 1970s and 1980s, and the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Oftentimes changes resulted from more subtle, bottom-up causality. Cubans in the street and at work had to design new strategies for accommodating the impact of emigration, privatization, militarization, Sovietization and de-Sovietization, and the ever-present legacy of slavery. Ordinary Cubans responded by offering or withholding participation to the state and by giving creative expression though music and dance. Quite clearly, a single narrative cannot suffice to explain the complexities and nuances of how the Revolution evolved as one event-filled decade followed upon another. The Revolution has always been in the process of becoming, whether viewed from the podiums of power or in the everyday relationships that people conduct at the grassroots level.
NAFTA and U.S.-Mexico Relations: In Retrospect and Prospect (program), February 22-23, 2007
(2007-02-23) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection of The University of Texas Libraries and the Mexican Center of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies are organizing a conference to mark the donation to the Benson Collection of the archives on the NAFTA negotiations of the Mexico-U.S. Business Committee. The conference will analyze the history and impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement. A major aim of the conference is to provide an assessment of the NAFTA negotiations and of the resulting agreement in 1993-1994. It is our hope that the recently acquired archival collection will help scholars to research further in this area. A second major aim is to take stock of how NAFTA has worked up to the present and to discuss possible new directions for the agreement. To this end, we intend to invite policymakers and researchers from both Mexico and the United States who can complement each other's perspectives. In an introductory panel, we would like to take a retrospective look at the process of negotiation, review the original goals that the agreement intended to accomplish, and discuss the challenges that the agreement has faced in the last ten years. Our preliminary agenda also would include the following interrelated sets of issues: First, NAFTA's potential role in accelerating Mexico's competitiveness and promoting technological exchange and joint business development initiatives between the U.S. and Mexico; Second, the influence of NAFTA on social development, specifically on poverty and income inequalities in Mexico; Third, the implications of NAFTA for the new dynamics of Mexico-U.S. migration and the public policies emerging on both sides of the border to deal with these new dynamics; Fourth, the rule of law under NAFTA, that is, the impact of NAFTA on the transparency and effectiveness of the domestic law and legal systems of Mexico and the U.S. in areas of environmental protection, intellectual property, labor, etc.; Finally, the effects of NAFTA on U.S.-Mexico relations, especially the nature and adequacy of political and media communication between them.
The Future of Health Care for U.S. Retirees in Mexico (program), March 30, 2007
(2007-03-30) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
This conference will examine the future of health care coverage for U.S. retirees in Mexico. It will present findings from a survey of approximately 1,000 retirees in Mexico who participated in an online anonymous survey as well as from visits to several retirement communities there. It also will provide background information on trends in retirement to Mexico and some of the initiatives undertaken to develop retirement communities. One of the principal constraints to retirement in Mexico is the lack of portability of Medicare coverage and uncertainty about the quality of medical care. This conference also will present information about a number of new facilities that have been developed and both public and private initiatives to certify the quality of physicians and hospitals. Participants will include government officials, U.S. and Mexican hospital operators, physicians, retirees, and some researchers. The objective will be to identify initiatives that might be possible to improve the quality of care received by retirees in Mexico and to address some of the obstacles to retiring there.
NAFTA and U.S.-Mexico Relations: In Retrospect and Prospect (biographies), February 22-23, 2007
(2007-02-23) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection of The University of Texas Libraries and the Mexican Center of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies are organizing a conference to mark the donation to the Benson Collection of the archives on the NAFTA negotiations of the Mexico-U.S. Business Committee. The conference will analyze the history and impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement. A major aim of the conference is to provide an assessment of the NAFTA negotiations and of the resulting agreement in 1993-1994. It is our hope that the recently acquired archival collection will help scholars to research further in this area. A second major aim is to take stock of how NAFTA has worked up to the present and to discuss possible new directions for the agreement. To this end, we intend to invite policymakers and researchers from both Mexico and the United States who can complement each other's perspectives. In an introductory panel, we would like to take a retrospective look at the process of negotiation, review the original goals that the agreement intended to accomplish, and discuss the challenges that the agreement has faced in the last ten years. Our preliminary agenda also would include the following interrelated sets of issues: First, NAFTA's potential role in accelerating Mexico's competitiveness and promoting technological exchange and joint business development initiatives between the U.S. and Mexico; Second, the influence of NAFTA on social development, specifically on poverty and income inequalities in Mexico; Third, the implications of NAFTA for the new dynamics of Mexico-U.S. migration and the public policies emerging on both sides of the border to deal with these new dynamics; Fourth, the rule of law under NAFTA, that is, the impact of NAFTA on the transparency and effectiveness of the domestic law and legal systems of Mexico and the U.S. in areas of environmental protection, intellectual property, labor, etc.; Finally, the effects of NAFTA on U.S.-Mexico relations, especially the nature and adequacy of political and media communication between them.
President Felipe Calderon's First 100 Days in Office (program), April 13, 2007
(2007-04-13) Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS)
This conference is designed to bring together scholars, political analysts, and politicians from Mexico and the U.S. to analyze the change of administration in Mexico in 2006, and to make an initial assessment of what the first "semester" of President Calderon's government tells us about the current and likely future directions in two key arenas of policy making and political change: (1) political reform and (2) the strategy to improve public security. These two arenas, along with employment creation and poverty alleviation, form the central policy platforms of the new administration. The conference is open to the public and will offer a capstone to two graduate and undergraduate courses that examine Mexico's democratic transition and emerging political culture. It will be Webcast live or streamed after the event.

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