This series of four talks by prominent Mexican public intellectuals and governmental figures is co-sponsored by the Latin American Initiative at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy of Rice University. Speakers will address the topics including fine arts, energy, development, immigration and security. The goal of this discussion is to foster cross-border collaboration and understanding between Mexico and the United States.
Poverty Alleviation Programs and Economic Development in Mexico: Challenges for Policy Makers
Miguel Székely
Undersecretary of Higher Education in Mexico
Dr. Székely previously was Undersecretary of Planning and Evaluation of the Secretariat of Social Development. He has been a professor and researcher at El Colegio de México and ITAM, where his research focuses on poverty and inequality in Mexico and Latin America. Miguel Székely has a Licentiate in Economics, an MA in Public Policy from ITAM, and a PhD in Economics from Oxford University (UK).
Watch the webcast.
See Rice News (11/09/2007) coverage of this event.
Francisco Salazar
President of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) of Mexico
Francisco Salazar has twice been a federal deputy for his home state, San Luis Potosí, from 1997 to 2000 and 2003 to 2005. While a member of congress he was appointed to the Energy Commission, and as Secretary of the Environment Commission, and as a member of the Public Budget, Economic Development and Water Resources Commissions. He has been a researcher and professor at the University of San Luis Potosí teaching and publishing in the field of Public Finance. He was recently listed as one of the “30 most promising in his thirties” by Expansión magazine. Francisco Salazar holds a Chemical Engineering degree from Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí and has a masters in Public Finance and Global Market Economics from the London School of Economics.
Watch the webcast.
See Rice News (11/29/2007) coverage of the Baker Institute conference "Natural Gas in North America," in which Dr. Salazar presented his remarks.
Trafficking and Vulnerability of Migrants: A Conceptual Form
Jorge Bustamante
UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants
In 1994 Dr. Bustamante accepted appointments to the Joint Public Advisory Committee and the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission, which were created by the governments of Mexico, the United States, and Canada as a result of the "parallel agreements" of NAFTA. In 1988 his overwhelming body of research was cited by Mexican President Madrid when he gave Bustamante the Premio Nacional de Ciencias, the highest award granted to scientists by the Mexican government. Also, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari presented Dr. Bustamante with the National Award on Demography for his research on Mexican migration to the United States. Dr. Bustamante continues serving as coordinator of the Social Sciences Committee of the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology for the President of Mexico. He has been a faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin; El Colegio de México in Mexico City; and, presently, the University of Notre Dame, where he has held an endowed chair since 1986.
Watch the webcast.
See Rice News coverage (12/07/2007).
See Rice News preview (11/15/07).
**This event has been postponed until further notice.**
Teresa Franco
General Director of the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico
Dr. Franco has been president of the Mexican Committee of Historical Sciences and of UNESCO's World Patrimony Committee. She has also been chair of the History Department at the Universidad Iberoamericana and Director of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. From 2000-2006 she was director of the publishing house Editorial México Interactivo. She is a member of several cultural associations in Mexico and abroad and has done vast archival research. Some of her publications include Mundo Azteca, Mil tres textos sobre la historia de la frontera norte, Y por todos habló la Revolución, and the journal Arquelogía Mexicana.
The closest parking lot to Baker Hall is the Central Campus Garage, which is underground and next to the Jones Business School. It costs $2/hour. Free parking is located in the Greenbriar lot.
For campus maps and parking information, please click here.
For security reasons, the Baker Institute requires all attendees to reserve a seat in advance. Please e-mail Hank Hancock at hmhancock@rice.edu to request an invitation and remember to bring a photo ID to each event you attend.
For additional information about this series, please contact the Humanities Research Center's Richard Gilder Fellow, Moramay Lopez Alonso at 713-348-4212 or moramay@rice.edu.