Castañeda Comes to Claremont Colleges
By Adam Myers
Staff Writer

The relationship between the United States and Mexico is headed down a new path, albeit slowly, according to Dr. Jorge Castañeda, Mexico's foreign minister from January 2001 until January 2003. Castañeda was this year's speaker at the sixth annual Avery Lecture, sponsored by the Pacific Basin Institute. His speech was dynamic and interesting, impressing many of those who attended.

Castañeda has authored numerous books and journal articles on Mexican and Latin American politics. He joined the cabinet of President Vicente Fox in January 2001. After two years of service, he abruptly resigned, and will now likely return to academia.

Castañeda lectured on what he and President Fox have attempted to do to change the relationship between Mexico and its neighbor to the north. According to Castañeda, a change in the relationship between these two countries became necessary in light of numerous political developments over the past fifteen years. These developments include the opening of Mexico's economy, the democratization of Mexican politics, and the transition of the United States into its role as the world's only superpower.

These developments, according to Castañeda, necessitated specific changes in the relationship between Mexico and the United States. But before such changes could occur, Mexico needed to establish a counterweight to the extremely disproportionate influence that the U.S. has on Mexican foreign policy. "If we want to have a deeper relationship with the U.S., we need balance," Castañeda said. Hence, the Fox administration has sought to strengthen the Mexican role within the United Nations and in world affairs in general.

In discussing the changes in U.S.-Mexican relations he and President Fox have attempted, Castañeda spent the most time discussing immigration policy, one aspect of the new Mexican strategy that has produced disappointing results. Originally, Fox and Castañeda had hoped to work with the U.S. to create a large temporary workers program, resembling the Braceros program of the early twentieth century, and to achieve amnesty for the millions of undocumented Mexicans currently living in the United States. These goals suffered a huge setback as a result of 9/11, when the focus of U.S. foreign policy abruptly shifted away from Latin America, but Castañeda still hopes they will one day be achieved.

Dr. Castañeda then discussed energy policy, saying that Mexico wants to insert energy clauses into NAFTA. He also discussed the role of Mexican-American relations in education, saying he hopes that more Mexican students will be able to study in American universities in the near future. Finally, Castañeda indicated that he wanted to change Mexican-American relations with respect to foreign policy, saying he would like Mexico to become something of a liaison between the United States and other Latin American countries.

In closing, Castañeda outlined two fundamental issues that he feels are especially important for the improvement of United States-Mexico relations. First, he stressed "the importance of being important," i.e. the significance of the United States acknowledging its unique relationship with its southern neighbor. Castañeda indicated that he would like the U.S. to be more up-front about the uniqueness of this relationship, and said President Bush made a good first step toward doing this when he chose Mexico for the first international visit of his presidency. Second, Dr. Castañeda said he would like Mexicans to cease what he calls "gringo-bashing," and Americans to cease their degradations of Mexicans, as a means toward a more healthy relationship between the two countries.

The reaction to the lecture was generally positive, with the most common sentiment being that Castañeda was an evocative and entertaining speaker. "He lifted Mexico to the position it should be in," said Georgius Gotsis '03, a native of Mexico. Indeed, an important step toward improved Mexican-American relations is a better awareness within the United States of the problems facing Mexico.