Potencial de dreamers mexicanos en progreso nacional Potential of Mexican Dreamers in National Progress

Carlos Alfonso Macías Valadez Elias 한국외국어대학교 중남미연구소 2018 중남미연구 Vol.37 No.4

In modern times, the United States has become an immigration destination for many people seeking the so-called “American dream”, which allows them to progress in an environment of equality and freedom. However, the reality is different since most of them become de facto illegal immigrants. A part of them are the infants that were taken to the United States at a young age, who have lived there more years than in their countries of origin. These young people are known as “dreamers”. With the xenophobic policy of the Trump’s administration, this group has become the most vulnerable for a possible deportation since the State has all their personal data. As a result, recently, there have been cases of deportations to Mexico of some of these dreamers, who on the one hand suffer from an identity crisis, identifying themselves as Americans, while on the other try to adjust themselves to their original homeland. In this line, it is necessary to design strategies to take advantage of their potential in a pragmatic way, so they can be integrated into Mexican society in order to progress both individually and nationally. This aim leads the development of this study.

La Crisis del Sector Agrícola Mexicano - Una Realidad Señalada, Ignorada y Ocultada

Carlos Alfonso Macías Valadez Elias 한국외국어대학교 중남미연구소 2009 중남미연구 Vol.28 No.1

Nowadays, unquestionably, the Mexican agricultural sector is going through an unprecedented crisis. The factors that define the abovementioned crisis are: a decrease in the agricultural production per capita; a gradual increase in the alimentary dependency; poverty in the agricultural sector; farmers’ emigration; abandonment of agricultural lands; and low productivity. In this regard, some experts in the field have argued that this crisis has reached alarming levels in the country. Likewise, Mexican farmers are going through difficult times due to the fact that they have difficulties making a decent living out of the cultivation of their lands. Concurrently, the Mexican authorities do not recognize the seriousness of the problem, which impedes their action in taking the necessary measures to overcome the situation. In this sense, while the mentioned crisis becomes an ignored reality for some, it is pointed out by others and even hidden by a few. In the meantime the crisis is expanding gradually and the infertile and abandoned Mexican agricultural sector demands a structural reform to survive. However, above all the first step to overcome this crisis will be to recognize it.

“Sin maíz, no hay país” - Una falacia del campo mexicano

Carlos Alfonso Macías Valadez Elias 한국외국어대학교 중남미연구소 2011 중남미연구 Vol.30 No.2

Undoubtedly, throughout the ages, the corn has been present in the development of the Mexican society. In this regard, the cultivation of this product has had a special importance due to the fact that it is the base of the alimentary diet of this nation since its origins, just as in these modern times. Due to the previously stated argument, the farming of this cereal has been determining for the development of the Mexican agricultural sector. Unfortunately, during the last decade, the farmers of this country began to realize that they were immersed in a deep crisis. The poverty, the low productivity and the poor profitability of the sector, gradually and inevitably, started to be disclosed. The farmers’ situation was worsening progressively. They did not expect that the future could be worse until they found out that one of their biggest fears was about to come: the free entrance of the American corn. In this regard, they know that it is impossible to compete against the American corn producers due to their huge production systems, high quality and low costs. According to what was originally stipulated in the NAFTA, on 1st January 2008, the agricultural tariffs of basic products, such as corn, bean, cane sugar and milk, would be removed, allowing the free trade of them among Canada, Mexico and the United States. The Mexican farmers firmly opposed to this measure arguing that without corn production in the country, the national agricultural sector would be seriously affected. Due to this reason, on that date, thousands of Mexican agriculturists throughout the whole country demonstrated against the abovementioned implementation of NAFTA under the slogan “without corn, there is no country.” Throughout this research the aforementioned statement shall be deeply examined in order to determine objectively its veracity.

El Acuerdo del Pacífico, un Nuevo Horizonte para la Integración Americana

Carlos Alfonso Macías Valadez Elias 부산외국어대학교 이베로아메리카연구소 2011 이베로아메리카 Vol.13 No.2

Several attempts aimed at integrating the Americas have emerged since the independence movements in this continent until these current times. Nevertheless, these efforts have been, somehow, scarce and fruitless. Thus, nowadays the integration level in the American Continent is, relatively, meager if it is taken into account the outstanding evolution of the European amalgamation. Undoubtedly, in this current globalization dynamic, the economic integration has been the most viable, pragmatic and convenient kind of integration for the nations around the world. Due to the previously stated, it has been pursued by most of the countries in recent decades. In this regard, it could be argued that this kind of alliances has been successfully achieved at a sub-regional level in the Americas, mentioning blocs such as: Andean Community of Nations, MERCOSUR and NAFTA. Notwithstanding, the proposals aimed at achieving a hemispherical economic integration, such as ALCA or ALBA, have been unsuccessful. However, finally after a tough evolutionary process, it has emerged an encouraging agreement that will change the course of history in the Americas: Acuerdo del Pacífico. This aforementioned treatment, signed on 28th April 2011, not only establishes a common market among Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru; but also, at the same time, traces a new path for the American integration. Throughout this academic research, the origins and development of Acuerdo del Pacífico shall be deeply analyzed, as well as the existing connections and implications among this agreement, ALBA and ALCA.

Implicaciones del Reconocimiento del Origen de Samsung y LG en México

Carlos Alfonso Macías Valadez Elias 한국외국어대학교 중남미연구소 2012 중남미연구 Vol.31 No.3

At this point of the current globalized era, the human being has been encircled from all sides by products and services coming from every corner of our planet. This fact has appeared as a result of globalization dynamics, which progressively have been interconnecting people all around the world opening frontiers, narrowing understanding among nations and strengthening human ties. Likewise, this globalized period has been fed by the contemporary fierce competition of multinational companies that look for opportunities in the global market to expand their business which, in turn, will allow them not only to develop and grow, but also to survive in this capitalist global economy engendered by liberalism. Nowadays, the global consumers’ decision‐making process has become more complex than before, taking into account the new variables added by this globalized times such as country of origin, brand, country image, etc. Every single detail matters for the delicate and exigent modern consumers; likewise a single detail could be either the key of success or the key of failure for every multinational enterprise. In this sense, marketing specialists have analyzed exhaustively in last decades the country of origin effect and the impact of brand perception on global consumers. Nevertheless, there is still too much to say about the influence in the global market of brand origin, which is closely related to the concept of country image. Thus, in order to deepen in this topic, the case of Samsung and LG in the Mexican market will be analyzed in this investigation. These Korean companies, related as it is well known to the production and trade of electronic devices, have successfully expanded their business in Mexico in recent decades. However, people of this country ignore the real origin of the abovementioned brands. Presumably, the Mexican consumers’ perception about Samsung and LG products and Korean electronics would change, in case this market realizes the genuine origin of these multinationals. Throughout this research these implications shall be deeply examined.

La sostenibilidad de la frontera norte mexicana a la par de la dinámica de la industria maquiladora

Carlos Alfonso Macías Valadez Elias 한국외국어대학교 중남미연구소 2011 중남미연구 Vol.29 No.2

Unfortunately the environmental degradation caused by the maquiladora industry is one of the side effects caused by the contemporary industrialization process in Mexico. On the one hand, it has to be recognized that the Mexican authorities have intensively promoted industrial development across the country in the last decades as a strategy for improving the economy. In this regard, the maquiladora industry has emerged as a determining factor in the progress of the industrial sector. Likewise the maquiladora industry has dynamized Mexican exports, becoming at the same time a significant source of employment for the domestic workforce and contributing to a great extent to national economic growth. On the other hand, the authorities have not paid much attention to the environmental costs of this industrialization, and this disregard has prevented desirable sustainable development in the country. It is important to point out and recognize that the continuous expansion and uncontrolled operation of the maquiladora industry has contributed to a great extent to environmental pollution, particularly on the Mexico‐US border, which nowadays affects millions of people. In this regard progressive economic growth, which has been stimulated by the abovementioned industrialization promotion, has been accompanied by gradual environmental degradation. The causes of this problem shall be deeply examined in order to propose efficient and accurate alternatives to solve it, taking into account that the most appropriate solution for this issue is not to eliminate maquiladoras, but to balance industrialization and economic growth with ecological sustainability in the country.

Menoscabo de la confianza social en el sistema penal y judicial mexicano tras caso Chapo Guzmán

Carlos Alfonso Macías Valadez Elias 한국외국어대학교 중남미연구소 2016 중남미연구 Vol.35 No.4

Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, better known as El Chapo Guzmán, became the most wanted criminal in the world after Osama bin Laden’s death. El Chapo was head of Cártel de Sinaloa, one of the most violent and prosperous criminal organizations globally, and under his leadership this organization expanded its operations in America. This capo was arrested three times up to 2015; however, he escaped in all of them, which evinced the high corruption and inefficacy of the Mexican penal and judicial system. Particularly, the last jailbreak on 2015 provoked social indignation in Mexico. Afterwards, El Chapo was recaptured at the beginning of 2016. Nevertheless, it is thought that the Mexican society has a low level of trustworthiness on its penal and judicial system and that El Chapo case has revealed the ineffectiveness of the Mexican authorities. Throughout this research, the abovementioned hypothesis shall be corroborated based on statistical evidence obtained through an ad hoc survey.

Causas e implicaciones del fin a la multipropiedad en el fútbol mexicano

Carlos Alfonso Macías Valadez Elias 한국외국어대학교 중남미연구소 2015 중남미연구 Vol.34 No.2

The soccer multi-ownership exists when the same person or company owns two or more football clubs at the same time in a professional league. This practice has been considered by FIFA, and conditioned according to its statutes, to protect the integrity of this sport, due to the fact that if two soccer teams are playing in the same competition and both of them are owned by the same individual, this could have an adverse effect on the truthfulness of the competition. Under this consideration, or even in spite of that, the soccer multi-ownership has existed in Mexico since 1982. Surprisingly, in May 2013, the Mexican Football Federation, after 31 years, announced the gradual abolition of this practice. The causes of this measure were not completely clarified, and presumably are not related to a FIFA’s direct command or pressure, but to an internal struggle of interests among the Mexican soccer team owners. Particularly, it is believed that Grupo Televisa and Grupo Salinas, which are the conglomerates that apparently are in control of the professional soccer in Mexico, are behind that decision taken by the Mexican Football Federation. Throughout this analysis, based on a professional academic methodology aimed to find objective causalities among the facts occurred around the issue, the causes of the ban of the soccer multi-ownership in Mexico shall be examined.

Desarrollo comunitario de sitio ecoturístico en cascada de Tamul

Carlos Alfonso Macías Valadez Elias 한국외국어대학교 중남미연구소 2023 중남미연구 Vol.42 No.4

Ciertamente, el modelo de desarrollo capitalista produjo un rápido crecimiento económico del que solo unos pocos se beneficiaron. Sin embargo, por otro lado, también causó muchos problemas sociales y devastación ambiental. A fin de contrarrestar estos impactos negativos, en las últimas décadas se ha producido una transición de este modelo al desarrollo sostenible. El surgimiento de este nuevo paradigma ha fomentado el ecoturismo, el cual también promueve el equilibrio entre la economía, la sociedad y el medio ambiente. Dado lo anterior, los proyectos ecoturísticos están ganando relevancia mundial en la actualidad. Al respecto, uno de ellos ha sido identificado en un pequeño poblado rural mexicano donde la comunidad está tratando de desarrollar un atractivo ecoturístico en un salto de agua conocido como cascada de Tamul. Empero, debido a la evolución relativamente reciente de este proyecto y su falta de orientación profesional, no se ha desarrollado completamente. En esta línea, es necesario diseñar estrategias adecuadas para aprovechar su potencial de manera pragmática, de modo que se pueda garantizar su sustentabilidad en miras de lograr el progreso y el bienestar integral de la localidad. Este objetivo es el que marca el devenir del presente estudio. Certainly, the capitalist development model produced rapid economic growth from which only a few benefited. However, on the other hand, it also caused many social problems and environmental devastation. In order to counteract these negative impacts, in recent decades there has been a transition from this model to sustainable development. The rise of this new paradigm has fostered ecotourism, which also promotes a balance among the economy, the society and the environment. Due to the above, ecotourist projects are currently gaining global relevance. In this regard, one of them has been identified in a small Mexican rural town where the community is trying to develop an ecotourist attraction in a cascade known as Tamul waterfall. Nevertheless, due to relatively recent evolution of this project and its lack of professional direction, it has not been fully developed. In this line, it is necessary to design appropriate strategies to take advantage of its potential in a pragmatic way, so its sustainability can be guaranteed in order to achieve progress and comprehensive well-being in the locality. This aim leads the development of this study.