AUSTIN, Texas—The University of Texas at Austin will bring together scholars, policy analysts and politicians representing Mexico’s three largest parties to review Felipe Calderón’s new administration.
The "President Calderón’s First 100 Days in Office: Trends and Directions" conference is from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 13, at the School of Architecture, Main Lecture Theater (GOL 3.120).
In July 2006, Calderón defeated leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador during a hotly contested election. The race was tight, with a margin of less than one percent separating the two candidates. After the results were announced, Obrador’s supporters took to the streets in protest.
The conference, which is free and open to the public, will examine the policy platforms of the new administration: political reform, public security, job creation and programs to alleviate poverty.
For more information, call the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies at 512-471-5551. For a schedule of panel discussions, visit the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies Web site.
Experts Available to Discuss Mexico
Researchers from the university—whose Latin American history program is ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report magazine—are available to discuss Mexico’s evolving social and policy issues.
Mexican Politics
Peter Ward
C. B. Smith, Sr. Centennial Chair in United States-Mexico Relations #2
Department of Sociology
512-232-6319
peter.ward@mail.utexas.edu
Ward is a nationally recognized expert on Mexico. He is the author of "Colonias and Public Policy in Texas and Mexico: Urbanization by Stealth" and the highly acclaimed "Mexico City." In 2003, he was appointed to the American Academy of Sciences’ National Research Council Committee, "Transforming Our Common Destiny: Hispanics in the United States."
Voter Perceptions and Commonalities
Kenneth Greene
Assistant Professor, Department of Government
512-232-7206
kgreene@mail.la.utexas.edu
Greene specializes in political parties and elections with an emphasis on the formation of opposition parties in dominant party regimes. During the 2006 national elections, Greene traveled throughout Mexico to survey candidates. He also led a binational survey of voters. Although the candidates’ positions were polarized, Greene found surprising agreement among voters.
Social Development and Immigration
Bryan Roberts
Interim Director, Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and
C. B. Smith, Sr. Centennial Chair in U.S.-Mexico Relations, Department of Sociology
512-232-2409
brr@prc.utexas.edu
Roberts researches social and development issues throughout Latin America, including sustainable communities, modernization, immigration and free markets. He directs the university’s Mexican Center and is the author of "The Making of Citizens" and co-author of "At the Crossroads: Mexico and U.S. Immigration Policy."
For more information contact: Peter Ward, C. B. Smith, Sr. Centennial Chair in United States-Mexico Relations #2, Department of Sociology, 512-232-6319; Paloma Diaz, program coordinator, Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, 512-471-8593; Christian Clarke Cásarez, director of public affairs, College of Liberal Arts, 512-471-4945.
