I want to congratulate the American people for an election campaign that was not only historic but reassuring to the rest of the world. The primary season was particularly reassuring: the fact that two of the candidates for the Democratic Party nomination were a woman and a man of Mexican-American descent, with the eventual winner an African-American man, speaks volumes about the vibrancy of the American melting pot and the inclusiveness of
The campaign delivered a clear message from the American people to their candidates and parties: “We want change!” Record numbers of Americans participated in the electoral process, no doubt in part because of its historic nature, but also because the voters wanted to express their desires for a strong economy and for improvements in the education, health care, and energy sectors. The campaign debates over the war in
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Frankly, we must acknowledge that as the world’s greatest economic and military power, the
My first recommendation to the President-elect is to recognize that it is essential for
The anti-American attitudes expressed by some segments of the region’s population and the inflammatory rhetoric that is popular among some leaders in the hemisphere troubles the vast majority of Latin Americans. Through dialogue the new president should seek to establish mutual trust. We in
My second recommendation concerns our mutual interest in a strong
A third recommendation is to strengthen the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). That is critical for
One specific measure that would strengthen NAFTA, reduce red tape and improve its impact would be the elimination of the rules-of-origin requirements which stipulates that goods traded in the treaty area must make clear where they have been manufactured. While these rules have a laudable intention, that is, to insure that none of the three partners become a simple pass-through for a nation outside the trade area, their implementation has created more headaches and controversies than true benefits.
Now is the time that we should seek to strengthen our regional ties and cooperation, especially in light of the increasing economic clout of
Tags: Alejandro Bailleres, American Melting Pot, Grupo Nacional Provincial of Mexico, Mexico, NAFTA