The Mexican consul general came to Cal State Long Beach last week, emphasizing the economic differences of California and Mexico.
The meeting on Thursday started with the screening of a short video about Mexico, showing the distinct architecture of everything from the Mayan Ruins to city cathedrals. The video was followed by Mexican Consul General Juan Marcos Gutierrez, who was there to present the information about Mexico.
“The reason we are here today is a large part of our duties to reach out, and to try to strengthen the relationship with academic institutions in order to build a better understanding between our countries,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez was formerly the coordinator general for the anti-corruption agency in Mexico within the Secretary of the Public Function. He holds a degree in law from the Autonomous University of Baja California, where he teaches constitutional law.
Gutierrez started by discussing the consulate in California, which he said is the biggest post there is — even larger than the actual Embassy in the city of Mexico — because there are 3.8 million people of Mexican descent in Los Angeles County. These people are not first-generation Americans, he said, but they are people who are entitled to hold a Mexican passport.
As California still struggles with its own economy, Mexico, along with the rest of the world, has also been affected by the economic downturn.
“Mexico’s gross domestic product in 2008 was 1.08 trillion. This is half the size of the economy of all California, making Mexico about one-third of the size of the California economy,” Gutierrez said.
Mexico is still the 13th largest economy in the world, according to Gutierrez; this is mainly due to Mexico having one of the largest networks of free trade.
The U.S.’s neighboring countries are in the top three when it comes to exporting and importing goods. Gutierrez stressed that when it comes to the U.S., Mexico usually doubles in numbers when exporting, compared to China, which is third, and Canada being first.
In terms of imports, Mexico ranks third and China becomes second.
“This explains a lot about our position in many topics,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez gave examples of Mexico and California working together, which included a Feb. 3 purchase of 100 megawatts of renewable energy by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, from the Mexico Comision Federal de Electricidad. This purchase brought energy to 50,000 households in the Los Angeles area, Gutierrez said.
Pedro Briseno, a senior business interrelations major, asked what Mexico is going to do about immigration reform in the U.S.
“Let’s share the responsibility. We need to do some reforms more aimed toward fixing our economy,” Gutierrez responded. “There should be some kind of worker programs or visa policy that controls future flows. If the U.S. is going to want to keep up the growth of the economy, they will need workers.”
After the speech given by Gutierrez, the faculty panel on CSULB-Mexico Initiatives talked about what programs are available on campus for Latino students, such as the Center for Latino Community Health, Mi Universidad Mi Casa and the California-Mexico Project.