The year 2010 will mark a double celebration for Mexicans: the bicentennial of its independence from Spanish rule and the first centennial of the Mexican revolution that gave way to its modern political life. However, amidst the celebration, the country is facing one of the most challenging times in its modern history.
Despite the fact that Mexico has achieved a successful transition into a multi-party system that allows for political succession, it is also evident that after the year 2000 — when the PRI was voted out for the first time in 70 years — Mexico still requires profound institutional renovation. Democratic development in Mexico has revealed the limitations and insufficiencies of the old forms of governance.
On the economic front, 2009 has been a year in which Mexico has sunk into a deep economic crisis as a result of its profound dependence on the U.S. economy. NAFTA facilitated the concentration of economic activity in a few exporting activities and a few exporters. The result is that the U.S. recession has hit Mexico much harder than any other country in Latin America. Unemployment is rampant, thousands of small and medium companies have gone bankrupt, and millions have joined the ranks of poverty.
Panelists:
Alfonso Durazo was a senior advisor to President Vicente Fox before he publicly resigned and authored a book about his disagreement with the administration: Saldos del Cambio, Una Crítica Política de la Alternancia (Results of Mexico’s Change, A Political Critique of “Change” in Mexican Government). He has written for important Mexican publications such as Reforma and Proceso, and holds M.P.A. and J.D. degrees from UNAM and a Phd from Tec de Monterrey, Mexico. Timothy A. Wise is Director of the Research and Policy Program at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University. He specializes in trade, agriculture, and rural development. He is the co-author of The Promise and the Perils of Agricultural Trade Liberalization: Lessons from Latin America, and Confronting Globalization: Economic Integration and Popular Resistance in Mexico.Moderator: Sarah Anderson, director of the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.
Note: Part of the discussion will be in Spanish. Translation will be provided. To attend, please contact Manuel Pérez-Rocha, tel: 240-838-6623, email: manuel (at) ips-dc (dot) org.
Mexican, Canadian, and U.S. leaders should scrap their failed “Security and Prosperity Partnership” and begin overhauling the North American Free Trade agreement at an upcoming Guadalajara meeting.
Mexican, Canadian, and U.S. leaders should scrap their failed “Security and Prosperity Partnership” and begin overhauling the North American Free Trade agreement at an upcoming Guadalajara meeting.
Jeff Faux, the founding president of EPI who now lives part of the year in Mexico, and Manuel Pérez-Rocha, of IPS and the Mexican Action Network on Free Trade, will lead a brown-bag discussion on current U.S. economic policy toward our troubled neighbor to the south, the effects of neoliberalism and deregulation, and just alternatives.
Bring your lunch and join the conversation! No RSVP is required. For more information, call (202) 533-2555.
Jeff Faux, Founding President of EPI, now lives part of the year in Mexico Manuel Perez Rocha, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and Mexican Action Network on Free Trade
The Foreign Policy In Focus Annual Summer Film Series concludes with a showing of Maquilápolis, winner of Outstanding Achievement in Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Barcelona International Women’s Film Festival. Please join us and our two guest speakers Sarah Anderson, Fellow and Director of the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, and Manuel Perez Rocha, Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies.
Maquilápolis is a documentary about (and by) workers in Tijuana’s assembly factories, the maquiladoras. The project is a collaboration between filmmaker Vicky Funari, artist Sergio De La Torre, and Tijuana women’s organization Grupo Factor X, with the participation of the human rights organization Global Exchange and the environmental activism non-profit The Environmental Health Coalition. Maquiladoras are the multinationally-owned assembly plants which dominate the economy of the U.S.-Mexico border region, employing over a million people. Carmen is one of these people. She works the graveyard shift, six nights a week, in Tijuana’s Panasonic factory. After making television components all night, Carmen comes home to a shack she built out of recycled garage doors, in a neighborhood with no paved streets, no sewage lines and no electricity. A single mother, Carmen takes care of her three children all day, and if she’s lucky she sleeps for an hour or two before heading off to work again. At 29, she suffers from kidney failure and anemia resulting from her years of factory work. Carmen earns six dollars a day. This unique documentary tells the story of globalization from the personal perspectives of Carmen and a dynamic group of Mexican maquiladora workers who together are working towards creating liveable solutions to the complexities of life in a globalized city. The film meets women who are each dealing with the hardships of environmental toxins, labor rights abuse, infrastructure and housing issues, and women’s rights. Maquilápolis approaches the workers as experts who can provide us with keys to our common future, inviting them to co-author their own story on videotape.
The FPIF film series is co-sponsored by Busboys and Poets Restaurant and the Progressive Intern Network.
Calendar of Films:
Taxi to the Dark Side Best Documentary – Academy Award Thursday, July 3 5:30-7:30pm Speakers: Farrah Hassen, Newman Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies and Andy Shallal, Iraqi Voices for Peace and Owner of Busboys and Poets
Camden 28 Best Documentary – Philadelphia Film Festival Friday, July 11 5:30-7:30pm Speaker: Marcus Raskin, Co-Founder and Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
Cocalero Nominated, Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary – Sundance Friday, July 18 6:00- 8:00pm Speaker: Sanho Tree, Fellow and Director of Drug Policy Project, Institute for Policy Studies
Body Of War Best Documentary – Hampton International Film Festival and Best Documentary – National Board of Review Friday, July 25 8:00-10:00pm Speaker: Geoff Millard, Iraq Veterans Against the War
Maquilápolis Outstanding Achievement in Documentary – Tribeca Film Festival and Audience Award for Best Documentary – Barcelona International Women’s Film Festival Thursday, July 31 5:30-7:30pm Speakers: Sarah Anderson, Fellow and Director of the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies and Manuel Perez Rocha, Associate Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
Foreign Policy In Focus is a network for research, analysis and action that brings together more than 600 scholars, advocates and activists who strive to make the United States a more responsible global partner. It is a project of the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in Washington.
For more than four decades, the Institute for Policy Studies has transformed ideas into action for peace, justice, and the environment. It is a progressive multi-issue think tank.
