The United States and Mexico: Partners in a Competitive Global Economy

The Wilson Center's Mexico Institute hosted Mexico's Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo for a public presentation on Tuesday, October 14, 2014.

With economic issues a top priority in the U.S.-Mexico bilateral agenda, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, has provided energetic leadership in efforts to boost North American competitiveness and trade. The economic reforms being implemented in Mexico and the sustained economic recovery in the United States provide fertile ground for further growth in bilateral trade and integration, which is being nurtured and strengthened through the work of the U.S.-Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue. Secretary Guajardo discussed the efforts of the Mexican government to simultaneously strengthen the domestic and regional economy in a volatile and competitive global context.

Moderator: Duncan Wood, Director, Mexico Institute

Biography:

Ildefonso Guajardo is Mexico’s Secretary of Economy. He has previously held the posts of Chief of the Executive Office of the Governorship of Nuevo León; Technical Secretary of Planning, Communication, and liaison with the Secretariat of Commerce and Industrial Development; Senior Official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1997; and Undersecretary of Tourism Development in the Secretariat of Tourism. Guajardo also was a congressman beginning in 2000. He received a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon; a Master’s degree in economics from Arizona State University where he was a visiting professor; and a doctorate in public finance and economics from Pennsylvania University.