President Salinas visited Stanford University March 11-13 to make presentations based on the recently published
English version of his book: Mexico: The Policy and Politics of Modernization. During his visit, Salinas met faculty,
tudents and members of the business community.
President Hennessy welcomed him. He then met with former Secretary of the Treasury and of State, George Shultz,
Professor Emeritus and currently a Ford Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Hoover institution. They had a warm, friendly exchange of ideas
including anecdotes about the NAFTA negotiations, the repercussions of the September 11 events, and the importance of academic contributions
to the policy debate. They parted with an exchange of books. Mr. Shultz’s book is titled Turmoil and Triumph, My Years as Secretary of State.
President Salinas made three presentations offering “the past as a prologue to the future” not in the form of lessons but of shared
reflections about Mexico. The writings in his book cover the major economic and political reforms during his administration: debt re-negotiation,
NAFTA, Mexico in a globalized world, social policies, privatization, the Chiapas rebellion, the assassination of the presidential candidate, the
Mexican crisis, and the accusations against his brother Raul.
Jose Gonzales, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Nicholas Hope
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His first presentation was to about 25 Stanford faculty from various departments. The 20-minute presentation was followed by a lively,
candid, and incisive session of questions and answers for about an hour and a half and dinner afterwards. The second presentation was to Silicon Valley
entrepreneurs where Salinas viewed the future with optimism but highlighted the difficult reform challenges ahead and the strong ties between Mexico
and California through the large presence of immigrants. The third presentation was a lunch at the faculty club with Mexican students at Stanford.
Students asked him about incidents in Mexico and his opinion about their own research in their theses. He concluded encouraging his “paisanos”
to return: “Mexico needs your talent, your hope, but most of all return with pride and optimism because Mexico is a great country”. In all three sessions
the President was open about the successes and shortcomings of his administration and the challenges still facing Mexico.
Among his other activities, in true Silicon Valley and Stanford University spontaneous fashion, President Salinas, a die-hard
Macintosh user, had an informal meeting with Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Computer. Salinas also “dropped by” a class on Latin American
Economic Development since 1980.
John Shoven, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, John Gunn
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