The New Politics of Mexico and the United States

The 2012 Mexican elections constituted a watershed in the country’s politics when voters returned the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which governed  for 70 years in the 20th century,  to power. President Enrique Peña Nieto took immediate  steps to tackle the pressing issues that Mexico faces today, including measures to reduce violence, stimulate  economic growth and reform the country’s political institutions. To succeed, the president  must find support in his country’s Congress, of which no political party holds a majority. In the United States, President Barack Obama also faces a divided Congress and several pressing issues, including promoting economic recovery, reforming immigration policy and reducing gun violence. The bilateral issues are no less thorny. At this briefing, congressional leaders from Mexico and the United States will discuss the climate for legislative action in both countries, with special attention to bilateral issues and the opportunities and constraints their respective Congresses face. In addition, a renowned authority on Mexican politics and U.S.-Mexico relations will provide analysis based on his extensive experience as a student of the two countries’ political and economic affairs. This event has been generously underwritten by Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.