The Asociación Civil Iniciativa Ciudadana para la Promoción de la Cultura del Diálogo, A.C and the University of Guadalajara at Los Angeles (UDGLA), as part of Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), hosted a presentation of the book, Una vida en dos culturas: la construcción de alianzas por los migrantes mexicanos en Estados Unidos y en México (A Life in Two Cultures: Building Alliances for Mexican Immigrants in the United States and Mexico).

The book is a compilation of lectures by political and academic experts which offers reflections and proposals about the situation of Mexican immigrants. The lectures were part of a work session entitled, “The economic crisis in the United States and Mexico: Implications for immigrants,” which took place in Mexico City on February 23 and 24, 2009. The authors hope this book will make a useful contribution to the creation of public policies that fairly address issues such as immigration, social conditions, politics, culture and the rights of immigrants and their families in the US.

Presenters included the following: Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano, chairman of Fundación para la Democracia, Alternativa y Debate, A.C.; Cándido Morales Rosas, the executive director of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME); Dr. Jorge Durand Arp-Nissen, UDG professor at the Center of Social Sciences and Humanities; and Carlos Heredia Zubieta, a member of Iniciativa Ciudadana.

Durán said that integration is a very positive thing for immigrants living in the United States, and that the creation of alliances between Mexican groups helps them to simultaneously stay in contact with their Mexican origins and integrate into the culture of their host country. He mentioned that the degree of commitment shown by Mexican immigrants in the United States demonstrates the rich human capital that this community has to offer.

García de Alba referred to the University of Guadalajara at Los Angeles and its role in providing the support needed to give people of Mexican origin increased access to higher education. He said the Mexican government faces a big challenge in helping the 900,000 young Mexicans in the United States who are awaiting the opportunity to study at the university level.

Another issue to be resolved regarding public policies in Mexico is making sure that remittances sent by Mexican immigrants make a genuine contribution to regional development, job creation and the country's overall growth. With respect to the situation of Mexican immigrants, he pointed out three deficient areas: achieving recognition for the contribution of Mexicans abroad, promoting their empowerment and strengthening the bonds they have with both Mexico and the US. He spoke about civic participation of Mexicans living in the US being an important way for them to achieve their objectives, adding that it was important to generate leadership that will bring about, among other things, the kind of immigration reform that will better their quality of life.

In closing, Cárdenas stressed the importance of creating leaders within the US-based Mexican community and also said it was important to foster alliances with groups that work with immigrants and support minority groups, adding that the book contained a very important directory of such groups. He also said that consideration should be given to reaching agreements for continental unity between Canada, the United States and Mexico that go beyond NAFTA. Such accords should provide support for disadvantaged countries, freedom of mobility, currency standardization and the creation of common policies, in addition to other measures.

And it should also be noted that the topic of immigration is particularly relevant at this year’s FIL, given that Los Angeles, one of the most dynamic cultural centers in the Americas, is the first city to participate as the book fair’s Guest of Honor. This also has something to do with the reason why UDGLA supported this book presentation. One of the most important internationalization and strategic projects that UDG has undertaken, the University of Guadalajara at Los Angeles was founded for the purpose of progressively offering educational opportunities at the technical, lifelong learning, high school and university levels to the Mexican and Latino population in Los Angeles.

This book is the first in a collection of works about immigration, development and bi-national citizenship published by Iniciativa Ciudadana para la Promoción de la Cultura del Diálogo, A.C., with the support of several institutions. The book’s authors are: Elio Villaseñor, director of Iniciativa Ciudadana para la Promoción de la Cultura del Diálogo, A.C.; Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano, chairman of Fundación para la Democracia, Alternativa y Debate; Enrique Figueras and Carlos Heredia, members of Iniciativa Ciudadana; Andrew Selee of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C.; and Rodolfo García Zamora of the Autonomous University of Zacatecas.