Mexico

Student researchers from the �ؿ�ζSM’s Reach Alliance have released an in-depth study of Mexico’s Co-Meta Initiative, which aims to support the economic empowerment of women. It’s work the students hope will inform the design of other programs globally that seek to break down barriers to women’s economic participation.

Under the mentorship of Erica Di Ruggiero, an associate professor of global health and director of the Centre for Global Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, the Reach Alliance researchers dug deep into the Co-Meta Initiative’s approach to collaboration with a network of economic and social actors.

They interviewed past and present partner organizations, as well as the instructors and mentors responsible for directly serving program participants.

“What interested me most about the research process was hearing from a wide array of stakeholders – from government and UN representatives, to small business owners and nonprofit organizers,” says undergraduate student Nora Moidu.

“Not only did we learn about the collective impact approach, but also about gender inequities, the realities of COVID-19 in Mexico and success stories of program participants.”

Based at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, in partnership with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, the Reach Alliance is a student-led, faculty-driven, multi-disciplinary research initiative dedicated to investigating pathways to success for innovative development programs that reach the world’s most marginalized populations.

In Mexico, as in many low- and middle-income countries, women are considerably underrepresented in the labour force, with only 42 per cent of Mexican women formally employed. That’s compared to 75 per cent of men. The pandemic has only worsened the economic inequality affecting women across Latin America, experts say.

In response, the Co-Meta Initiative mobilizes a network of local economic and social actors who support women’s economic empowerment. Based in the city of Guadalajara, capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, the initiative offers marketable trades like concrete design, floral arrangement, and food preparation, combined with technical training and other skills development.

Of the women who participated in the Co-Meta Initiative, 65 per cent reported an improvement in their economic situations as a result of the program.

Now the partners behind Co-Meta are expanding the program to reach 1,500 women across Jalisco.

Like a lot of development programs, Co-Meta is the product of collaboration between a diverse array of partners. It was founded by the Guadalajara-based sustainable development agency ProSociedad and is implemented by partners from the government, business and NGO sectors in Jalisco. It recently received a significant injection of funding from the UN Women Second Chance Education and Vocational Training (SCE) Programme, which is allowing it to scale up.

From the outset, ProSociedad designed Co-Meta according to the principles of collective impact, an approach in which different actors join together to pursue a common goal via structured collaboration instead of through top-down management. Until now, there had been no external evaluation of Co-Meta to look at how it was implementing the collective impact framework.

That’s where the Reach Alliance team came in.

“Our participatory approach to evaluating the initiative was critical to the research process through ongoing engagement of ProSociedad and ITESO,” says Di Ruggiero. “Our team identified key strategies, including the important role of ProSociedad as a backbone organization that facilitates collaboration and linkages among a network of actors.”

The conclusions the researchers delivered to Co-Meta are detailed in the recently released case study, and they can be instructive for similar kinds of broad partnerships that seek to achieve bold social objectives using the collective impact framework.

The Reach Alliance study hones in on ways that Co-Meta can improve the communication between participants in the partnership to make sure that everyone understands how they fit into the broader program framework.

It also advises streamlined baseline training to ensure the implementing partners can all work effectively with the program participants. To glean insights for program development, the study recommends an offboarding survey for former partners, and a centralized monitoring and evaluation system based on shared metrics.

“These insights will be of interest to other organizations implementing similar community-based initiatives to improve economic opportunities for women and help reduce gender inequities,” Di Ruggiero says.

It’s this innovative approach to multidisciplinary research – broadly-applicable, solutions-focused – that the Reach Alliance is scaling to six more top universities by 2022.

U of T undergraduate has a message for women and girls considering STEM fields: 'You can'

rahul.kalvapalle — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 21:43:06 +0000

U of T undergraduate has a message for women and girls considering STEM fields: 'You can'

rahul.kalvapalle Thu, 02/11/2021 - 16:43

Cutline

Adriana Diaz Lozano Patino, a third-year engineering science student at U of T, is focused on finding innovative solutions to global water and energy needs (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Global Lens

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship

Mexico

STEM

Sustainability

Undergraduate Students

Women

As a young girl in Mexico, Adriana Diaz Lozano Patino was clear on what she wanted to do when she grew up.

“Since I was very young, I loved the idea of becoming a scientist – even though when you’re 10 years old, you don’t really know what that actually means,” says Patino, now a third-year engineering science student in the �ؿ�ζSM’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering who is majoring in biomedical engineering.

Last summer, Patino completed an internship in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering’s Water and Energy Research Laboratory, which researches innovative engineering solutions for global water and energy needs. There, she worked on research pertaining to sustainable sanitation and water desalination in Mexico and Bangladesh, respectively.

The lab is directed by Associate Professor Amy Bilton, who Patino describes as “a phenomenal role model.”

Bilton and Patino are among a growing number of women scholars, students and researchers whose work is pushing the boundaries of traditionally male-dominated STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields while helping to spread a message of inclusivity – a message that underpins the International Day of Women and Girls in Science that was adopted by the United Nations in 2015.

Patino, a Pearson Scholar, says her summer stint in Bilton’s lab – funded by the Engineering Science Research Opportunities Program – made her doubly determined to pursue a career in engineering.

Her first project saw her assist with PhD research focused on designing sustainable sanitation systems for the periphery of major cities in Mexico.

“Around 11 million Mexicans don’t have access to safe sanitation technologies, particularly those who live in the periphery of cities,” Patino says. “Mexico, just like many countries that are deemed the global south, has this really interesting interface at the periphery of major cities where you see urban and rural characteristics merging together. These communities usually lack access to general infrastructure and services.”

Her contribution to the project focused on figuring out why households were being deprived of reliable sanitation systems, particularly in Mexico City, Puebla, Guadalajara and the State of Mexico.

Using data gleaned from Mexican government and non-profit sources along with information on geographic conditions in those regions, Patino was able to zero in on some of the key variables. They included: the distance of households from downtown, the legal status of the land on which people live and access to health institutions.

“I’m from Mexico, so I grew up around this and have a vague idea of it, so it’s very important for me to be able to work on something that can eventually help people back home. Of course, it would’ve been better to be able to go there and talk to them but alas, COVID,” Patino says.

“In general, I think it’s something that’s at the heart of what the Water and Energy Research Lab does, and what Professor Bilton really wants to get her students to look at, which is understanding the community you’re going to work in and the context around the problem you’re trying to solve – so that you don’t end up doing engineering out of context and end up with solutions that may sound really cool in theory, but in practice just don’t adapt to the cultural and social context.”

Patino’s second project saw her contribute to a PhD student’s research focused on combining UV LED and reverse osmosis technologies to create a sustainable water filtration system.

“Reverse osmosis uses pressurized membranes to filter water and UV LED is usually used to kill micro-organisms. These technologies have never been coupled before, at least from what we found in the literature,” Patino explains. “We wanted to be able to build a system that would be powered by solar panels, so it can be used in remote communities. Particularly, we’re designing around a case study of a school community in Bangladesh, taking into account the geography of the area and the amount of people the system would be serving.

“What we were trying to do was to set the stage for future master’s students to come and build on the system and hopefully, one day, test it in the field.”

Patino says she hopes to go on to pursue graduate studies and research – ideally at the intersection of bio-engineering and global development.

Her passion for using engineering to solve pressing global challenges is a trait that’s increasingly prevalent among engineering students, according to her professor.

“With a lot of younger students in general, there’s a lot of interest in thinking about how they can use some of their skills to think about overall betterment of quality of life for people around the world,” says Bilton, who earned her bachelor of applied science in engineering science at U of T before going on to complete her master’s and PhD at MIT.

Bilton describes Patino as a “very positive and energetic person” who went “above and beyond” in all of her projects. She also said Patino’s work ethic and perspective as a young woman and international student from Mexico are a testament to the benefits of embracing diversity in STEM fields.

“It’s a push I make within my own group – to try and make sure we have a diverse group of students from cultural, gender and across all the spectra. I think there’s a general recognition now – that probably wasn’t there back when I was a student – that having that diversity brings a different kind of strength in terms of being able to think more broadly about problems,” says Bilton, who is also director of U of T’s Centre for Global Engineering. “Especially when the work itself is focused on inclusion, global development and making sure everyone has access to services that improve quality of life.”

Bilton notes that efforts to welcome more women and girls into STEM research and study at U of T is a key part of the university’s wider push to advance the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals – one of which is gender equality.

“I do feel like there’s a shift happening in this area and we’ve come a long way,” Bilton says. “[But] we still have a ways to go.”

As for Patino, she’s also using her time as a student to encourage young girls to pursue an education in STEM fields through her work at Hi Skule, U of T Engineering Society’s outreach club.

“We want to make sure that other girls see that you can go into STEM,” she says. “It’s not scary, you’re going to be loved, you’re going to have friends and you’re going to have faculty who support you. We’re trying to bring across the message that it’s a pretty awesome field. There’s lots to learn and women sometimes feel like they’re not going to live up to it because they’ve been taught that, but it’s completely not true.

“Particularly in the engineering community at U of T, I’ve found that the students are very supportive of each other. I’ve always felt like I’m heard and I get access to things. I never felt there’s been any challenge in my way because I’m a woman.”

Patino concedes that pursuing a career in a STEM field isn’t easy – for anyone – but stresses that women and girls are more than equipped to excel.

“Like anything in life, there are always challenges. But never think that because you’re a girl or you identify as a girl, that you can’t do it,” she says. “You can.”

Connecting across borders: U of T commerce students explore Latin America's financial hub

noreen.rasbach — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 04:00:00 +0000

Connecting across borders: U of T commerce students explore Latin America's financial hub

noreen.rasbach Wed, 07/31/2019 - 00:00

Cutline

Rotman Commerce students at U of T took part in an experiential learning opportunity in Mexico City (photo by Lesley Mak)

Alexa Zulak

Topic

Global Lens

Experiential Education

Faculty of Arts & Science

Undergraduate Students

University College

Twelve Rotman Commerce students in the �ؿ�ζSM's Faculty of Arts & Science took part in an experiential learning opportunity in Mexico City to gain an on-the-ground perspective of the Mexican market and economy – the first experience of its kind for the undergraduate program.

Developed collaboratively with the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) in Mexico City, the international study tour in the spring gave students the opportunity to learn about the key industries, trade relationships and business culture of one of Canada’s most significant trading partners.

“We were looking for ways to differentiate the types of international experiences available to our students to reduce barriers to participation and increase international engagement,” said Lesley Mak, associate director, academic program services at Rotman Commerce.

With Rotman Commerce having previously engaged with ITESM, including hosting students from the institute for an international roundtable event after the Puebla earthquake in 2017, Mexico City was the perfect place for this experience.

“Our students were intrigued by Mexico City’s economy and history,” said Tricia Patel, an academic adviser at Rotman Commerce. “They were able to learn about global business strategy and social innovation. ITESM emphasized a strong entrepreneurial culture and sense of social responsibility as key to doing business in Mexico.”

Alongside a cohort of undergraduate business students from ITESM, Rotman Commerce students attended lectures, visited international companies, banks and government offices and participated in activities to learn about the history and culture of the region.

“It was great to see many of Mexico City’s financial centres,” said recent Innis College grad Ibraheem Aziz, who completed a Rotman Commerce management specialist and minor in economics in June.

“Mexico City is the financial hub of Latin America. We visited and toured the Mexican Stock Exchange and Central Bank of Mexico, two institutions that play an instrumental role in the regional economy through investment and trade.”

For many students, the trip was the first time they had the chance to take part in an intensive international learning experience to complement their academic work.

“The trip was an opportunity to apply the tools that we had learned in the classroom to a real-life setting in a completely foreign context. Not only that, it forced us to be critical, open-minded and combine our skills to make the most of the trip,” said Eri Kimura Meguro, a fourth-year New College student who is double majoring in Rotman Commerce’s management specialist and international relations with a minor in economics.

And for Meguro – who hails from Mexico City – the trip was also a homecoming. “I was so excited to show everyone around the city and share the facts or history I had learned over my lifetime. I was also looking forward to being able to see my home through my friends’ eyes and represent U of T and Rotman Commerce in Mexico City.”

The experience also allowed students to deepen intercultural learning, communication and interpersonal skills to build connections with other students and industry professionals in Canada and abroad.

“The bonding that took place between the Rotman Commerce students and staff during the trip was so valuable,” said Brenna Hamel, a fourth-year University College student in Rotman Commerce with a specialist in public accounting.

“I feel like this trip enhanced my student experience, my personal and professional networks, and my relationships with our academic advisers. I would 100 per cent recommend this experience to other students.”

Student interest in the study tour was incredible, Patel said. “We received 111 applications for 12 spots. The candidate pool was very strong with many candidates whose interests in the region were strongly aligned with their personal, professional and academic goals.”

For Rotman Commerce, the trip was all about giving students access to valuable insights and skills that would serve them well as business students and global citizens.

“Rotman Commerce is a global community,” said Patel. “The exposure to diverse perspectives that challenge the status quo will no doubt contribute to our students’ success as strong and innovative leaders who are equipped to connect across borders and address global issues.

“Our students have returned with a tremendous sense of self-awareness and purpose, embracing an expansive definition of community that is global in scope.”

U of T undergraduate students travel to Mexico to research organized crime and corruption

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 29 May 2019 16:31:22 +0000

U of T undergraduate students travel to Mexico to research organized crime and corruption

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 05/29/2019 - 12:31

Cutline

Students from a fourth-year U of T undergraduate course on organized crime and corruption traveled to Mexico City to meet with Mexican scholars, students, government officials and civil society activists (photo by Solomiya-Mariya Zakharchuk)

Jovana Jankovic

Topic

Global Lens

Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies

Criminology

Faculty of Arts & Science

St. Michael's College

Undergraduate Students

Victoria College

Mexico may be a popular tourist destination known for its beautiful landscapes and rich history, but a group of undergraduate students from the �ؿ�ζSM recently visited for a very different reason: to learn about organized crime, corruption, drug cartels and the massive “narco-insurgency” that large-scale criminal organizations are waging against the Mexican state.

As part of the Faculty of Arts & Science’s International/Indigenous Course Modules (ICM) program, students from the fourth-year undergraduate course on organized crime and corruption traveled to Mexico City to meet with Mexican scholars, students, government officials and civil society activists to learn how organized crime groups develop and how states are combatting the violence and corruption these groups provoke.

Associate Professor Matthew Light of the Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies developed this innovative course, the first of its kind at U of T. He believes contemporary Mexico is an excellent practical illustration of the theoretical and historical concepts he presents to his students, so an experiential learning opportunity seemed like the perfect fit for his course material.

“The ICM gave me a great experience of what field research would be like,” says fourth-year St. Michael’s College student David Delle Fave, who is completing a double major in criminology and sociolegal studies along with the ethics, society and law program.

“I took extensive field notes during the trip, and am writing my final project for the class based on my journal.”

The scholarly portions of the students’ trip included meetings with Professor Mónica Serrano of El Colegio de México (Colmex) and the World Economic Forum, as well as her Canadian colleague, Professor Jean François Prud’homme, who is originally from Quebec and now leads the Centro de Estudios Internacionales at Colmex. Students also had the chance to form small co-operative working groups with their Mexican peers, leading to a more holistic and nuanced understanding of the factors that influence crime and corruption.

“We learned, for example, about the impacts of NAFTA on trade and the domestic economy,” says Solomiya-Mariya Zakharchuk, a fourth-year St. Michael’s College student who is completing a double major in political science and criminology. “And we discussed stronger border regulation and higher wages for public officials to dissuade them from corrupt practices.

“It was only through speaking with people from different sectors that I came to understand that the organized crime problem in Mexico must be analyzed through many lenses: economic, political, sociological and agricultural.”

The students also met with government officials like David Perez, a staff member in Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration and Mexican Congresswoman María Rosete.

“It was fascinating to hear Perez speak about the effects of Mexico’s arms trafficking on homicide rates,” says fourth-year Woodsworth College student Sabrina Chee, who is completing a double major in political science, as well as criminology and sociolegal studies.

“He focused on the ways gun policies in the U.S. directly affect gun violence in Mexico, which provided us with a more well-rounded understanding of patterns in policing strategies and pro-active policies adopted across North America.”

Outside of their research, students also had the opportunity to experience the sights and sounds of Mexico City, a vast metropolitan area that is home to 21.2 million people – making it the fifth most populous urban area in the world. They visited the city’s famed anthropological museum and the Teotihuacan pyramids, an important pre-Columbian historical site.

A number of students remarked on the transformative experience of visiting the open-air Tepito market. A poor, working-class neighbourhood, Tepito houses a large underground economy and has at times been known as a hotbed of crime. But the ICM students say they felt safe under the supervision of their local guides.

“It was clear that our safety was a primary concern for those coordinating our tour,” says Delle Fave.

Ultimately, the students came away with an eye-opening impression of how stereotypes conflict with reality.

The Tepito market visit was “the most unexpected experience I had on my trip,” says Delle Fave. “Our visit broke down some of the stereotypes that many students had about the market. We got a first-hand, in-depth understanding of the history of the area, as well as the people who live there.”

The trip helped students distinguish between stereotypes about Mexico – that it’s overrun by crime – and the diverse reality of the country and its people.

“Learning about and listening to many of the lived experiences of people who have been directly involved in, or affected by, the lucrative arms and drug trade helped us to bridge the gap between appearance and reality,” says Chee.

Chee says her experience inspired her to think more deeply about the ways she can help improve the lives of people affected by violence, particularly women and girls. “My experience in Mexico City solidified my choice to pursue a career in the foreign services and advocate for human rights,” she says.

More than just advancing their education and careers, students remarked that the ICM trip solidified and strengthened their friendships with each other and their Mexican peers.

“My biggest takeaway from this trip, beyond the knowledge I acquired, is definitely the friendships I've formed with my classmates and with the students in Mexico,” says Jennifer Chan, a fourth-year Victoria College student completing a double major in psychology and criminology.

“The time we spent together learning about issues and policies in Mexico, exploring the city and discussing the causes each of us care about allowed us to develop friendships that cannot be replaced. Without the ICM, I would not have met people who constantly inspire me with their passion for making a positive impact.”

U of T expert on why the 'migrant caravan' should not be demonized

noreen.rasbach — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 16:40:35 +0000

U of T expert on why the 'migrant caravan' should not be demonized

noreen.rasbach Tue, 12/11/2018 - 11:40

Cutline

A Honduran migrant converses with U.S border agents on the other side of razor wire on Nov. 25 after agents fired tear gas at migrants pressuring to cross into the U.S. from Tijuana, Mexico (photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP)

Stephanie J Silverman

Topic

On American Thanksgiving weekend, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents gassed children with chemical weapons at the U.S.-Mexico border at San Ysidro, America’s busiest border crossing.

Social and traditional media were awash in disturbing images of family members fleeing tear gas canisters, pepper spray and flash bang grenades, some running without shoes and in diapers.

A low-flying CBP helicopter used the down draft from its rotors to spread the tear gas cloud into a Mexican-side canal where many people were gathered.

President Donald Trump had earlier authorized CBP agents to consider rock-throwing as assault with a firearm. He had been anticipating the arrival at the border of a procession of 5,000 to 7,000 asylum-seekers, all on foot and largely fleeing violence, poverty and drought in Honduras and other Central American countries.

The United States has created a backlog at the border by employing a ticketed system of entries and forcing asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico. “We’re not turning people away,” CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan told reporters in October. “We’re asking them to wait.”

Humanitarian crisis

It is not surprising that the mayor of Tijuana has declared a humanitarian crisis and is hoping for more financial support to provide the basic necessities of life to migrants.

Trump, meanwhile, has consistently employed hateful, xenophobic, fear-inducing and fascistic rhetoric when discussing the migrants.

In the leadup to November’s midterm elections, the president referred to asylum-seekers as “predators,” “human shields,” an “insurgency” and “the worst scum of the world.”

This language created a false pretence to deploy 5,200 troops, helicopters and heavy equipment to the border, double the number who are stationed in Syria.

The president recently defended the Thanksgiving tear gassing, claiming that three CBP agents had been “very badly hurt” by rocks and stones thrown by migrants whose “violence is very strong.” However, his account contradicts an earlier statement by McAleenan, and the CBP’s internal assessment, that “the likelihood of violence directed against CBP personnel along the border is minimal.”

California ponders legal action

These horrific tear gas attacks have fuelled moral outrage, as well as a probe into the legality of lobbing chemical weapons over the border, with the state of California debating legal action.

We should question how and why the Trump administration is creating a border spectacle that then purports to justify the militarization of the border against this supposed invasion. The administration is repelling the asylum-seekers by any means necessary, forcing them to remain in squalid conditions and denying them access to their rights.

Using military language, as Trump does repeatedly as commander-in-chief, fuels widespread perceptions of migrants as “invaders.” The language creates the false impression of danger. The group becomes seen as a threat that must be contained and pushed out.

It results in a show of power to citizens that their government is in charge of the immigration and asylum systems, and that they should trust and feel protected by these tough officials.

This rhetoric reinforces an “us versus them” mindset, leading to nationalist feelings and displays that then justify violence to repel foreigners, including women and diapered children.

False associations with disease

There is a long history of falsely associating foreigners with disease, and this is no exception. Fox News has been reporting that the migrants have “health issues” as talking heads warn falsely that the newcomers will conjure up the long-eradicated smallpox and bring it into the United States.

Javier Hernanez, of Tijuana, Mexico, wears a Christmas hat as he looks out over the border wall separating Tijuana from San Diego on Dec. 7. Trump says Congress should provide all the money he wants for his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall, calling illegal immigration a threat to the well-being of every American community' (photo by Gregory Bull/AP)

While it’s certainly a fallacy that diseases respect borders, the use of the border as a “cordon sanitaire” to protect the country is a powerful tool to deploy.

The Trump administration insists on putting forward harmful actions to back up its rhetoric of hate. It’s going to build a $5 billion border wall; it will separate tens of thousands of children from their caregivers, confining them to desert tent cities despite signing an executive order purporting to end the practice; and now attacking men, women and children on the Mexican side of the border with tear gas.

Local activists have long been protesting the efforts to scare citizens about this bogus migration crisis.

It’s time to start listening to these voices, and to react with compassion to asylum-seekers not with violence, hate and militarized language.

Stephanie J Silverman is an adjunct professor and the interim associate director of the Ethics, Society, and Law Program at Trinity College, �ؿ�ζSM.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The migrant caravan: U of T expert on why it exists and how it came to be

noreen.rasbach — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 12:26:00 +0000

The migrant caravan: U of T expert on why it exists and how it came to be

noreen.rasbach Wed, 10/31/2018 - 08:26

Cutline

A new group of Central American migrants walk past Mexican Federal Police after wading across the Suchiate River, which connects Guatemala and Mexico, in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 29 (photo by Santiago Billy/AP)

Topic

On Oct. 19, thousands of Central American migrants tried to cross the bridge between Guatemala and Mexico, seeking safety up north. News outlets broadcast the painful moans of people being crushed one against the other and the screams of children. We saw the desperate looks of mothers as authorities in Mexico tried to push back the crowd with batons and pepper spray. The following day they were permitted to cross over.

The caravan of 7,000, mostly from Guatemala and Honduras, is heading for the United States.

Once news of the caravan was presented to U.S. President Donald Trump, he said the flow of people contained “dangerous criminals,” and he pressured the Mexican government to stop the “invasion.”

Trump threatened to cut humanitarian aid to Central American countries. He also announced he was sending more than 5,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. As the caravan began to receive more attention, people asked: “Why are these people coming to the U.S.?”

Necessity obliges us to leave

The answer is complex. “Una necesidad nos obliga,” a 20-year-old man told the Washington Post. Necessity obliges us to leave.

As a professor, sociologist and father whose own family once crossed the border of Mexico for a better life in the U.S., I reflected on this. Poverty and violence are the main factors driving the caravan. The proliferation of gangs, narcotics trafficking, corruption and impunity are all endemic problems in Honduras and Guatemala.

Honduras is one of the world’s deadliest places that isn’t a war zone. Droughts and floods have also had devastating consequences on agricultural economies. These people are travelling in a caravan for their own protection, to avoid having to pay a smuggler and to minimize the risk of crime.

A deadly history of U.S. involvement

But the roots of their plight are connected to larger issues and hemispheric politics played out over decades. Rage and threats will not make the caravan go away, as noted in a recent report by research and advocacy group, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).

Governments cannot prevent citizens from leaving their own countries.

Guatemala provides a great case for how U.S. involvement has contributed to political instability and economic inequality in Central America. The country of 17 million, many of whom are of Indigenous descent, elected their second democratically chosen president in 1951. President Jacobo Árbenz passed a series of populist polices that included land redistribution and expanding access to education for the neediest people in Guatemala.

This angered U.S.-owned companies like the United Fruit Company. In 1954 the U.S. CIA orchestrated a coup and installed a series of military dictators who enforced a crackdown against all government opposition.

This crackdown included dropping napalm on Indigenous villages thought to contain guerrilla fighters. Additionally, military soldiers were ordered to “desaparecer” or “disappear” anyone suspected of opposing the government.

About 200,000 people, mostly Indigenous, were killed in the country. These issues continue to reverberate today as the political class colludes with and protects criminal groups.

Honduras also has a long history of U.S. involvement, both economic and military. The U.S. presence began in the late 1890s, when U.S.-based banana companies first became active there. The U.S. military intervened in 1907 and 1911 to protect U.S. interests and further cement the ruling class’ dependency on Washington.

Honduras has undergone political turmoil since a 2009 military coup against populist president Manuel Zelaya. The U.S. froze aid but it was restored shortly thereafter. Similarly in the 2018 election, the results were contested and the country was once again plunged into a political crisis. At least 30 were killed, most of them opponents of U.S.-backed President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was accused of rigging the vote.

Migrants deserve a fair chance

The caravan of desperate and hungry migrants from Central America did not create itself. It was created by meddling governments and indifferent neighbours.

While about 1,600 migrants have made official asylum claims in Mexico, many are continuing their journey north and Mexican authorities have not tried to stop the caravan.

Guatemalan migrant Ernesto Cayax, 27, feeds his 25-day-old baby daughter Reychel, as he takes a break from walking with his wife Jahana Estrada, 23, and their three children, on the roadside outside Tapanatepec, Mexico, before dawn on Oct. 29. The family joined up seven days ago with a thousands-strong caravan of Central Americans trying to reach the U.S. border, roughly 1,600 kilometres away (photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP)

In a video message posted to social media President Enrique Peña Nieto announced a plan called “Estas en tu Casa” (You are at home). The government offered shelter, medical attention, schooling and jobs to the migrants on the condition they seek asylum with the National Immigration Institute and remain in the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas.

However, it is unsurprising that Central Americans do not trust their chances for a fair asylum process in Mexico, a country with a high homicide rate and a history of discrimination against migrants. Just a few days ago a photo was published on social media of a group of racist skinheads in Mexico City leading an anti-Central American caravan campaign.

We need to address the key factors that allowed this caravan to exist. We need to prevent powerful governments from meddling in the affairs of other nations. And we need to sanction those who do. These migrants deserve a fair hearing, a chance to ask for protection in the U.S. and a timely and fair resolution of their claims. And we need to stop state-sponsored violence.

Jerry Flores is an assistant professor of sociology at the �ؿ�ζSM Mississauga.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

How the new USMCA strengthens Canada in future trade deals: U of T expert

noreen.rasbach — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 19:17:22 +0000

How the new USMCA strengthens Canada in future trade deals: U of T expert

noreen.rasbach Mon, 10/22/2018 - 15:17

Cutline

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland hold a news conference on the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) in Ottawa on Oct. 1 (photo by Patrick Doyle/AFP/Getty Images)

Topic

Now that the threat of the NAFTA-pocalypse has lifted for Canada, the Monday morning quarter-backing is well underway on whether the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is better or worse than trade pact that preceded it.

But beyond the negative headlines, the USMCA probably leaves Canada stronger than it was going into the negotiations when it comes to future trade negotiations.

Three components of the deal, however – those surrounding dairy, the non-market economy clause and the new sunset provision – are worth reviewing for how they change Canadian trade politics both domestically and globally.

Dairy

Canadian dairy farmers have long been largely untouchable politically. That may now be changing, and they should expect to have their market access further eroded in future trade agreements.

In the short run, U.S. President Donald Trump was probably the best thing that ever happened to them. His disdain for Canadian dairy caused Canada to close ranks to support supply management even though it was already under intense scrutiny domestically as well.

An important turning point came with a seminal 2012 research paper. In the report, author Martha Hall Findlay argued that the 1970s version of supply management was outdated, unjustified, was enriching dairy farmers on the backs of middle-class and low-income consumers and interfering with our trade agenda.

When Trump demanded dairy concessions, it not only solidified but calcified support among politicians for a system in Canada that was otherwise losing ground. Nonetheless he probably only delayed the inevitable.

Cows check out visitors on a dairy farm in Saint-Henri-de-Taillon, Québec, in September (photo by Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

The number of dairy farmers actually in the system is down about 90 per cent since supply management’s start in the early 1970s to around 11,500 from about 140,000 in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and they have been a key irritant in nearly all of the country’s trade negotiations.

The political power of Canada’s dairy farmers rests on a crumbling consensus about the value of supply management. The Institute for Research on Public Policy recently found many Canadians supported dismantling the system.

Nearly every other country has phased out similar supply-management systems. With Canadian concessions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with the Pacific rim, the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement with the European Union (CETA) and now the USMCA, it seems likely that supply management is something that will be increasingly bargained away.

Despite the promise of compensation from Ottawa, the industry needs to prepare now for long-term liberalization.

Section 32.10

Probably no section of the new agreement has raised as many eyebrows as Section 32. It compels each of the three parties to notify the others three months before they start trade negotiations with a country defined as having a “non-market” economy – namely, China.

A trade pact’s text must be disclosed within 30 days of signing it for review by the other two USMCA partners. If the other two countries don’t like it, they can kick that country out of the USMCA.

The provisions have been erroneously reported as giving the United States a veto over Canadian trade policy. It doesn’t (but don’t take my word for it, go ahead and read it).

Further, given that under Section 34.6, the USMCA allows for withdrawal on six months’ notice from any country for any reason at all, the clause is more political than legal. Even without the China clause, if the U.S. doesn’t like Canadian trade policy, it can just leave the USMCA under 34.6.

In this November 2017 photo, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during a joint statement to members of the media in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China (photo by Andrew Harnik/Associated Press)

So who wins with this largely symbolic provision? Trump, for domestic reasons. The president can present this to his protectionist base as part of his wider trade war on China. This gives him a win as both the midterm elections and 2020 loom.

But longer term, Section 32 may actually serve Mexico’s and Canada’s interests more than America’s. It symbolically ties the U.S. tightly to the USMCA by linking its global anti-China ambitions to the trade agreement. That’s not a bad thing for Canada from a trade perspective.

Why?

‘Political cudgel’

Presenting the USMCA to the world as a common front against China – the American intent with Section 32 – means abandoning the trade agreement is now more difficult for the United States. Any future threat to kill the agreement from Washington (and it won’t come from anywhere else) can now be framed by supporters of the USMCA as being weak on China.

That will likely reduce any chance it will be scrapped, which benefits Mexico and Canada.

The agreement comes up for its first mandatory review in six years to decide whether it should be extended. At that time, Section 32 provides a political cudgel to Ottawa and Mexico City to remind the United States that the USMCA helps to cement their global leadership against countries it views as strategic competitors.

There was no similar provision in NAFTA, but if there was, there’s no doubt it would have helped us at the bargaining table.

Does this risk our relationship with China? Not likely. Remember, we’re nowhere near a trade agreement with China anyway given very different perspectives on environment and labour standards.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t options, and Canada has every right to pursue an agreement if we want. Mexico has already told China that it doesn’t see the USMCA as hindering any future agreements. Canada can and should do the same.

Canada can also use the USMCA to its advantage with China – a country many times its size. While NAFTA was in doubt, Canada was in a weaker position negotiating with China.

Now, by fully securing continental trade, Canada can leverage its more secure position at the bargaining table to more credibly insist on a deal that works for North America.

Sunset clause

The U.S. walked back its insistence on a five-year sunset clause on NAFTA. Now, the USMCA technically expires every 16 years, unless all parties commit to renewing it after the first six years.

Failure to do so will lead to an automatic expiry after 10 years, but with meetings held annually to work out the differences. The parties meet every six years otherwise to review the agreement.

Again, there is less here than meets the eye. The agreement can theoretically be terminated on six months’ notice anyway. But this process has some potential upsides for keeping the deal up to date.

Overhaul was long overdue

Drama aside, there was nothing wrong with updating NAFTA. It was time; the agreement was 24 years old and included nothing on topics like the digital economy. Yet there was scant motivation by its three members to overhaul it.

We shouldn’t wait for a crisis to break out every quarter century to review our most important trade agreement. The technical expiry dates of the USMCA can and should be used to make regular changes that will keep the agreement fresh and remind all three countries of its importance to their economies.

That means we may end up with a better, more flexible USMCA.

To summarize, the USMCA, while imperfect, is overall a positive development for Canada. It has a number of structural elements that may very well leave us stronger when negotiating trade pacts in the future.

Andrew McDougall is a sessional lecturer at the �ؿ�ζSM

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

U of T expert on NAFTA negotiations: Two's company, three's a crowd?

noreen.rasbach — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 15:58:57 +0000

U of T expert on NAFTA negotiations: Two's company, three's a crowd?

noreen.rasbach Wed, 08/29/2018 - 11:58

Cutline

The national flags of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, are lit by stage lights before a news conference at the start of North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations in Washington (photo by Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Topic

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

The Conversation

United States

Two’s company, three’s a crowd. The third wheel. There’s no good term for someone who jams a couple, seemingly invited out of pity.

Is that the position Canada finds itself in with the United States and Mexico, brought back into the negotiations to conclude a new continental trade pact at the 11^th hour after Washington and Mexico City have made a deal of their own?

And, if so, how did it get to the point that the United States’ most important trading partner appears to be essentially an afterthought in talks fundamental to Canadian national interests?

The Trudeau government said for weeks that Ottawa wasn’t frozen out of the negotiations. It was normal for two parties in a three-way negotiation to huddle and work on issues fundamental to them alone, Ottawa said.

Fundamental issues

But the U.S.-Mexico agreement initialed this week didn’t deal solely with bilateral issues, but with issues fundamental to Canada too, such as the dispute-resolution mechanism that was Canada’s most important trade objective when Ottawa first signed a free-trade pact with the United States in 1987.

If anyone traditionally worried about being the third wheel in the North American relationship, it was Mexico.

Mexico was only invited to negotiate its way into the free-trade zone after Canada and the United States had done their deal and put it into effect. Once those trilateral negotiations began in 1991, the three parties were scrupulous in ensuring they remained three-way talks.

Certainly, there were issues that concerned Canada only, such as cultural protections. And there were issues that concerned Mexico only, such as protections for its energy industry. But Canada and Mexico maintained a common interest in engaging the United States. And Washington didn’t try a divide-and-conquer strategy, recognizing that NAFTA involved continent-building as much as trade facilitation.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, left, and Mexican Secretary of Economy Idelfonso Guajardo, right, walk to the White House on Aug. 27. President Donald Trump says the prospects are ‘looking good’ for an agreement with Mexico that could set the stage for an overhaul of the North American Free Trade Agreement (photo by Luis Alonso Lugo/AP)

Behind the eight ball

Not so now. Canada now finds itself behind the eight ball in these negotiations, possibly faced with a choice between a bad deal and no deal at all, precisely what the Trudeau government was determined to avoid.

In particular, the price of signature may include a humiliating climb-down on protections for the supply-managed dairy and poultry sectors.

Much of this is the fault of the Trump administration. The White House has been singular in its contempt for its trading partners and in its dismissal of any concept of a North American community.

Canada and the United States have fought over trade since before Canada was a country (the first dispute over softwood lumber trade dates to shortly after the American Revolution), but Ottawa and Washington always sought to make those disputes about those disputes alone.

U.S. President Donald Trump, in contrast, talks as if Canada’s dairy tariffs are symptomatic of Canada’s trading practices rather than the exception.

Unrealistic expectations

But Ottawa deserves plenty of blame too. The Trudeau administration went into the NAFTA talks with unrealistic expectations.

Its demand for a progressive pact, worthy as that goal might have been, simply turned off the White House, just as it did the Chinese government in putative trade talks last year.

Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland headed to Washington a day after the U.S. and Mexico announced progress on a bilateral trade deal (Darryl Dyck/CP)

More costly still was Ottawa’s determination to show no flexibility on supply management. More than one prime minister over the past three decades has wished quietly for an opportunity to reform this protectionist throwback, even as they mouthed fealties to it.

This negotiation was the opportunity to act but, instead of doing it proactively and strategically, the Trudeau government may be forced into it as the price of saving Canada’s most important trade pact.

It’s now widely accepted that Canada is too dependent on the U.S. market given the wave of protectionism washing over U.S. politics. But, if anything, it may be more accurate to say that Canada didn’t do enough to protect its North American advantage by building a community of interest and institutional ties in the United States.

Instead, Canada took the U.S. market – as big as the entire European Union and right on our doorstep – for granted.

The White House, having finally grabbed Ottawa’s attention, may now agree to a deal that Ottawa can live with. Or it may work to drive a very hard bargain with the clock ticking. If so, another European comparison comes to mind: Canada just might have been sleepwalking to its own Brexit.

Drew Fagan is a professor of public policy at the �ؿ�ζSM's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Mexican-American chemist on why he left Harvard for U of T

ullahnor — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 17:46:47 +0000

Mexican-American chemist on why he left Harvard for U of T

ullahnor Thu, 04/12/2018 - 13:46

Cutline

Mexican-American chemist Alán Aspuru-Guzik (left) talks with Ted Sargent, U of T’s vice president international (right), at an event in Mexico City earlier this week (photo by Toni Hauri)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

International partnerships

Mexico

Alán Aspuru-Guzik, a Mexican-American scholar in theoretical and computational chemistry, was recently named a Canada 150 Research Chair jointly appointed to the �ؿ�ζSM’s departments of chemistry and computer science.

At an event this week co-hosted by the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City, Ted Sargent, U of T’s vice-president international, spoke with Aspuru-Guzik about his decision to move to U of T after 12 years at Harvard University.

Ted Sargent: You are a great example of the kind of scholar we are so proud to have at U of T. Tell me the story of how you decided to join us.

Alán Aspuru-Guzik: The moment when I decided to leave the U.S., I looked around the globe – Europe, Australia, Canada – for where I wanted to go to. I already had a relationship with Canada through the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).

Within Canada, U of T is a very special place in a very diverse city. I thought, this is where I want my kids to grow up. Fifty per cent of people in Toronto are foreign-born. And there are professors like you, a finalist for the Carbon XPrize. You are the kind of faculty who attracted me to U of T.

Ted Sargent: What will life look like on the ground at U of T?

Alán Aspuru-Guzik: U of T has given me a very interesting opportunity. The university is so diverse and dynamic. I will be in chemistry, and I will make compounds with my robots and maybe work together with your lab. We will get our arms around the chemical data from computers and robots using machine learning strategies arising from computer science. In other words, we’ll use robots to synthesize and test chemicals, and we’ll put machine learning in the loop to automate and accelerate the discovery process.

Alán Aspuru-Guzik speaks at an event in Mexico City this week (photo by Toni Hauri)

Ted Sargent: What will you do with the Vector Institute in Toronto?

Alán Aspuru-Guzik: The Canadian government has made a statement about its commitment to AI by creating three institutes in Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto. Vector is a multi-disciplinary institute with academia and industry. It builds on the remarkable legacy of people like Geoffrey Hinton, Richard Zemel, David Duvenaud and so many others. Apart from them, the rest are all the next generation of truly outstanding scholars attracted to Vector and U of T from around the globe. These people are working together with industry to use AI to transform the world. We want to use quantum computing for chemistry, machine learning and other applications in collaboration with Vector.

Ted Sargent: You’re also an entrepreneur. Tell us about your startups.

Alán Aspuru-Guzik: Yes, I’m an entrepreneur. And recently, the World Economic Forum named Boston the fourth most entrepreneurial city and Toronto the sixth most entrepreneurial city. So I feel good about my decision to come to Toronto. I started two companies this year, one is called Zapata Computing, named for Emiliano Zapata, the Mexican revolutionary, because the company will revolutionize computing. The other is called Kebotix and the CEO is Jill Becker, a U of T and Harvard graduate. We’re committed to opening an office in Toronto for both companies. There is a lot of support from the Canadian government for startups.

Ted Sargent: How has your experience with the culture of inclusivity been in science?

Alán Aspuru-Guzik: Canada has a remarkable diversity of gender roles. It’s very impressive. During the ceremony in Ottawa when they announced my Canada Research Chair, I thought I’d get a selfie with the prime minister, but he didn’t come. Instead, I got to meet Governor General Julie Payette. She is a U of T grad, an astronaut and an engineer. Also Canada’s Minister of Science [Kirsty Duncan] is a woman, and the chief science advisor to the prime minister [Mona Nemer] is a woman. Mexico needs to do a lot more work on that.

Ted Sargent: How does your family feel about the move?

Alán Aspuru-Guzik: My mother, wife and children are all very excited. And, it is easier to get from Toronto to Mexico than to get from Boston to Mexico. There are multiple direct daily flights. Toronto and Mexico should have more links and more integration between our countries. We need to reach out and make a strategic connection.

Ted Sargent: Tell us more about your research goals.

Alán Aspuru-Guzik: I am interested in generating and storing the energy of the world, storing electricity that we get during the day through inexpensive and renewable solar cells and batteries, and then making it available to be used at night. Through our collaborations with the Ministry of Energy in Mexico and the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT), Mexico will be a leader in this. Connected to this, I recently co-led an international workshop for the innovation challenge of Mission Innovation, a collaboration of 22 countries and the EU that focuses on doubling the participating countries’ clean energy research budget over five years.

Ted Sargent: So great to have you here. Thank you.

Lawyers for murdered Mexican women targeted with spyware: U of T's Citizen Lab

ullahnor — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 16:48:42 +0000

Lawyers for murdered Mexican women targeted with spyware: U of T's Citizen Lab

ullahnor Thu, 08/03/2017 - 12:48

Cutline

A woman places banners during a protest of the July 2015 murder of journalist Rubén Espinosa, government critic Nadia Vera and two other women in Mexico City (photo by Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Topic

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Faculty of Arts & Science

Lawyers representing the victims of three Mexican women slain in suspicious execution-style killings were targeted by spyware developed by an Israeli company, says the �ؿ�ζSM's Citizen Lab.

The Internet watchdog group, based at U of T's Munk School of Global Affairs, says Karla Michelle Salas and David Peña were targeted with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware in September and October 2015 as questions grew about government accounts of the killings, as well as the reported torture and sexual assault of the victims.

NSO's digital surveillance technology can infect and spy on mobile phones.

“In total, we have now publicly reported 21 cases in Mexico of abusive targeting with NSO’s spyware,” the lab says in its latest report. “A pattern has emerged in a subset of these cases: lawyers and investigators working on targeted killings in Mexico have been targeted with NSO Group’s spyware when their investigations questioned official accounts provided by the authorities.”

Read about the report at ABC News

While Citizen Lab cannot technically attribute the spyware's deployment to the Mexican government, researchers say in the latest report that there's “abundant evidence” to suggest NSO Group isn't doing enough to prevent misuse of its digital surveillance technology.

Researchers from Citizen Lab have also found that a human rights defender was targeted with NSO spyware in the United Arab Emirates. In addition, a former Panamanian president, who is being detained in the United States and facing extradition, is accused of diverting money to purchase NSO’s spyware to target his opponents.

“Clearly, there is a serious control problem around commercial spyware that needs to be urgently addressed lest such cases continue to mount,” Citizen Lab director and Faculty of Arts & Science Professor Ron Deibert writes on his blog. “One way to prevent such abuses is to encourage ownership groups to exercise greater due diligence over companies like NSO Group.”

Mexico

Through Reach Alliance, U of T students explore struggle for women’s economic equality in Mexico

U of T undergraduate has a message for women and girls considering STEM fields: 'You can'

Connecting across borders: U of T commerce students explore Latin America's financial hub

U of T undergraduate students travel to Mexico to research organized crime and corruption

U of T expert on why the 'migrant caravan' should not be demonized

Humanitarian crisis

California ponders legal action

False associations with disease

The migrant caravan: U of T expert on why it exists and how it came to be

Necessity obliges us to leave

A deadly history of U.S. involvement

Migrants deserve a fair chance

How the new USMCA strengthens Canada in future trade deals: U of T expert

Dairy

Section 32.10

‘Political cudgel’

Sunset clause

Overhaul was long overdue

U of T expert on NAFTA negotiations: Two's company, three's a crowd?

Fundamental issues

Behind the eight ball

Unrealistic expectations

Mexican-American chemist on why he left Harvard for U of T

Read more about CONACyT initiatives at U of T

Lawyers for murdered Mexican women targeted with spyware: U of T's Citizen Lab

Read more at the Guardian

Read about the report at ABC News

Read the story at Forbes

Read more at CBC News

Read the full report