Four months had passed since his controversial resignation from the plenary session of the Supreme Court when Eduardo Medina Mora publicly reappeared in San Antonio, Texas, in mid-January 2020. It was a justified presence, in response to the invitation made jointly by the Wilson Center and the United States-Mexico Foundation.
A dozen former ambassadors were called to participate in the first version of the Convocation, as its organizers called the unprecedented exercise, consisting of a three-day retreat. Medina Mora joined the Mexican list that was completed by: Martha Bárcena, Miguel Basáñez, Carlos de Icaza, Gerónimo Gutiérrez, Jesús Reyes-Heroles, Arturo Sarukhán and Bernardo Sepúlveda. His American counterparts are: Jeffrey Davidow, Roberta Jacobson, John D. Negroponte and Anthony Wayne.
Version 2.0 of this conclave took place in Tequila, Jalisco, last December, and added a new member: Christopher Landau. The debate between the diplomats of both nations was enriched with an exchange with business and academic leaders, which was witnessed by the current ambassadors: Esteban Moctezuma and Kenneth Salazar.
The retreat in San Antonio generated a document with recommendations that were shared with government officials and business leaders from both countries. Convocation 2.0 made public its conclusions and its work methodology.
Both meetings included in their agenda the strategic alignment of North American economies, workforce development, workforce development and labor mobility, public safety and soft power.
At the Tequila retreat, the former ambassadors met for three days. And to promote a broader debate, on the second day of the retreat, they agreed that ten business leaders and two university representatives representing both countries shared their points of view on the shared challenges in the region. The closing session was attended by Kenneth Salazar and Esteban Moctezuma.
The guests were: Guillermo Romo, from Grupo Mega; Rogelio Arzate, from GM; Soren Bjorn of Driscolls; Rubén Coppel, Juan Cortina, David Garza Salazar, from Tec de Monterrey; Fernando López Guerra, from Grupo México Transportes; Héctor Luján, of Reiter Affiliated; Dennis Nixon of the International Bank of Commerce; James O’Brien of Arizona State University and Jennifer Prescott of Amazon. Former presidential candidate José Antonio Meade Kuribreña participated as an independent consultant.
The former ambassadors talked a lot about the negotiation and the entry into force of the T-MEC, in addition to the need to advance in the economic integration of the region. And right there is one of the great bets of the Mexican government that is already working on a specific agenda, under the coordination of Secretary Rogelio Ramírez de la O.
The ambassadors recommend reaching a consensus on both sides of the border on what is considered essential value chains and operations. They make a point of involving the private sector in these conversations.
Within 10 days, the recommendations generated during the Tequila sessions will be presented in a videoconference in which ambassadors Bárcena, Gutiérrez, Sarukhán and Wayne will participate.
Side effects
TIGHT. The only thing missing is the approval of the Legal Department of the Presidency for the new internal regulations of the National Migration Institute and the Ministry of the Interior to enter into force. The adaptations have to do with a new model that concentrates functionalities in the Secretary’s Office, but above all, with a rigorous application of the new republican austerity principle. Examples? The extinction of the Institute of Federalism. Ignacio Ovalle will be left without charge, but not without a commission.
HOSTILES. The synchronization between the self-uncovering of the Secretary of Social Development of the Mexican government, Alejandra del Moral, and some expressions of the PRI president, Alfredo Del Mazo, suggest that the PRI will seek to retain that governorship with a woman. In the state PRI they know that there are at least two other prospects: the Secretary for Women, Martha Hilda González Calderón, and the federal deputy Ana Lilia Herrera, who insists on being the best positioned, in case the PRI-PAN coalition -PRD will compete in 2023 against Morena.