Latin American Business Club Hosts Mexican Consul General Carlos Sada
On November 13, Carlos M. Sada, consul general of Mexico in New York, spoke to 黑料社 All students on the Wilf Campus about the country鈥檚 growing economic opportunities, its struggle to defeat organized crime, and its relationships with the United States and Israel鈥攊n response to a Facebook invitation from the president of YU鈥檚 Latin American Business Club.
Consul General Carlos Sada answers students' questions at the YU Latin American Business Club event.
Daniel Simkin, a sophomore majoring in business and mathematics at YU鈥檚 , had initially posted the request on outgoing Mexican President Felipe Calderon鈥檚 Facebook wall. 鈥淚 felt that Latin America has so many exciting things happening that people don鈥檛 know about and there are a lot of great opportunities there for my fellow students,鈥 said Simkin, explaining why he and club founders Daniel Benchimol and Arieh Levi had reached out to many Latin American leaders.
鈥淚 also wanted students to be more aware of the relationship the United States has with Latin America that is mutually beneficial and how each country, from Mexico to Panama to Venezuela, has a distinct culture and connection to the United States.鈥
To Simkin鈥檚 surprise, Calderon personally returned his call. The president regretted that he would be unable to attend, but wanted to send Sada to speak in his place.
鈥淲e are neighbors with the United States and share a border of 2,000 miles, so it鈥檚 important for us to be good neighbors,鈥 Sada told students, adding that the U.S. was second only to Mexico as home to the largest population of Spanish speakers. His presentation highlighted Mexico鈥檚 increasingly robust economy, with exports totaling more than $350 billion in 2012, large foreign investments from Sony, General Motors and Audi, and Goldman Sachs forecasting Mexico as the fifth largest economy in the world by 2050.
In addition, Sada touched on Mexico鈥檚 new negotiations with the U.S. and Canada via full membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the possibility, raised by president-elect Enrique Pe帽a Nieto, that Mexico would open the oil industry to the private sector. 鈥淚f that happens, you will see the Mexican economy double its growth,鈥 he said.
Sada also addressed Mexico鈥檚 reputation as a dangerous and violent country, acknowledging that ensuring public safety was 鈥渙ne of the most challenging issues Mexico faces today.鈥 Tracing the formation and migration of drug cartels from 1970s Miami to Columbia, he detailed their expansion to Transnational Crime Organizations that eventually settled in Mexico, where they could exploit the country鈥檚 closeness to the U.S. border and, at the time, weaker civic institutions.
鈥淎 large portion of our funds, up to 5 billion dollars a year, goes to fighting organized crime,鈥 Sada said. 鈥淭hese organizations are like hydras 鈥 you can take out one head, and more heads, even more violent, grow back. But it is sad to invest in fighting criminals over social infrastructure, like schools and hospitals.鈥 He added that though their efforts have met with some success, the dilemma of how to best fight crime was something the new president of Mexico would be facing.
Sada鈥檚 presentation was eye-opening for Melanie Hes, a psychology major at from Chile. 鈥淚鈥檓 familiar with the connections between different Latin American countries but I had no idea about their relationship to the United States,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fascinating to see that language is not the barrier I thought it was and the way Latin businesses are spreading all over the world.鈥
For David Gedallovich, a junior majoring in marketing and finance at Syms, the opportunity to learn more about Mexico firsthand from its government was impossible to miss. 鈥淢exico is one of the biggest importers and exporters to the U.S., so it鈥檚 really important to know and think of Mexico as a player in the world economy,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hether you鈥檙e working in a company here or taking your business back to Mexico, an international outlook is key.鈥
Consul General Carlos Sada answers students' questions at the YU Latin American Business Club event.
Sada also addressed Mexico鈥檚 reputation as a dangerous and violent country, acknowledging that ensuring public safety was 鈥渙ne of the most challenging issues Mexico faces today.鈥 Tracing the formation and migration of drug cartels from 1970s Miami to Columbia, he detailed their expansion to Transnational Crime Organizations that eventually settled in Mexico, where they could exploit the country鈥檚 closeness to the U.S. border and, at the time, weaker civic institutions.
鈥淎 large portion of our funds, up to 5 billion dollars a year, goes to fighting organized crime,鈥 Sada said. 鈥淭hese organizations are like hydras 鈥 you can take out one head, and more heads, even more violent, grow back. But it is sad to invest in fighting criminals over social infrastructure, like schools and hospitals.鈥 He added that though their efforts have met with some success, the dilemma of how to best fight crime was something the new president of Mexico would be facing.
Sada鈥檚 presentation was eye-opening for Melanie Hes, a psychology major at from Chile. 鈥淚鈥檓 familiar with the connections between different Latin American countries but I had no idea about their relationship to the United States,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fascinating to see that language is not the barrier I thought it was and the way Latin businesses are spreading all over the world.鈥
For David Gedallovich, a junior majoring in marketing and finance at Syms, the opportunity to learn more about Mexico firsthand from its government was impossible to miss. 鈥淢exico is one of the biggest importers and exporters to the U.S., so it鈥檚 really important to know and think of Mexico as a player in the world economy,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hether you鈥檙e working in a company here or taking your business back to Mexico, an international outlook is key.鈥
Consul General Carlos Sada answers students' questions at the YU Latin American Business Club event.
Sada also addressed Mexico鈥檚 reputation as a dangerous and violent country, acknowledging that ensuring public safety was 鈥渙ne of the most challenging issues Mexico faces today.鈥 Tracing the formation and migration of drug cartels from 1970s Miami to Columbia, he detailed their expansion to Transnational Crime Organizations that eventually settled in Mexico, where they could exploit the country鈥檚 closeness to the U.S. border and, at the time, weaker civic institutions.
鈥淎 large portion of our funds, up to 5 billion dollars a year, goes to fighting organized crime,鈥 Sada said. 鈥淭hese organizations are like hydras 鈥 you can take out one head, and more heads, even more violent, grow back. But it is sad to invest in fighting criminals over social infrastructure, like schools and hospitals.鈥 He added that though their efforts have met with some success, the dilemma of how to best fight crime was something the new president of Mexico would be facing.
Sada鈥檚 presentation was eye-opening for Melanie Hes, a psychology major at from Chile. 鈥淚鈥檓 familiar with the connections between different Latin American countries but I had no idea about their relationship to the United States,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fascinating to see that language is not the barrier I thought it was and the way Latin businesses are spreading all over the world.鈥
For David Gedallovich, a junior majoring in marketing and finance at Syms, the opportunity to learn more about Mexico firsthand from its government was impossible to miss. 鈥淢exico is one of the biggest importers and exporters to the U.S., so it鈥檚 really important to know and think of Mexico as a player in the world economy,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hether you鈥檙e working in a company here or taking your business back to Mexico, an international outlook is key.鈥
