Focus on Mexico- challenges and opportunities ahead

This is a virtual event

September 20th from 12-1pm

Over the last three decades, Mexico has undergone a remarkable economic, political, and social
transformation. Four years into his term, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador enjoys high approval ratings despite a sluggish economy, ongoing anti-corruption challenges, and insecurity fed by drug cartels. While Mexico is the United States’ number one trading partner, the bilateral relationship has been strained, most recently by AMLO’s neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and refusal to join the western sanctions regime. Heading into the last two years of AMLO’s presidency, what are the opportunities ahead for Mexico? What are the biggest challenges? And how will relations with the United States play out?

Join the World Affairs Council as we discuss Mexico’s current situation with Salomon Chertorivski, a member of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies and former Secretary of Health of Mexico moderated by Lila Abed, Mexico Institute Deputy Director at Wilson Center.

Lila Abed

Prior to becoming the Mexico Institute’s Deputy Director, Lila was a White House correspondent for the international news channel NTN24. An avid international analyst, she employs her skills in an array of media networks, including in her roles as a permanent collaborator at Radio Fórmula and as a weekly columnist for El Heraldo de México and Opinión51.

Lila served as a Public Policy Advisor for Latin America at the international law firm Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C., after working as the International Affairs advisor for the Mexican Chamber of Deputies’ Foreign Relations Committee. She also worked in various public institutions, including the Mexican Embassies in Canada and in the United Kingdom. Lila gained tremendous experience during her time at Mexico’s Office of the Attorney General, where she was the General Director for International Cooperation, followed by a period as an International Affairs Advisor and later as the Chief of Staff for the Attorney General. She previously held the title of Secretary of International Affairs for the Partido Revolucionario Institucional’s Executive Committee. Lila also ran for a seat in Mexico City’s Chamber of Deputies.

She holds a master’s degree in Latin American Studies and Government from Georgetown University. She graduated magna cum laude with a major in International Studies and Hispanic studies and a minor in Chinese from Boston College.

Salomón Chertorivski Woldenberg was Secretary of Economic Development of Mexico City from 2012 to 2017. While in this role, the city's economy grew twice as much as the national economy. He served as Mexican minister of Health, changing the ministry's approach to healthcare treatment to a preventative model and implementing a comprehensive pharmaceutical policy. Prior to this, he was national commissioner of Social Protection in Health, where he expanded the Seguro Popular (Popular Insurance) to more than 55 million Mexicans. He served as CEO of DICONSA in 2006. Chertorivski Woldenberg also developed the largest optical company in Latin America. In 2014, he was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and the World Sustainable Development Forum named him the World Icon on Sustainability Endeavors in 2018. He has been a professor at the ITAM, the Universidad Iberoamericana and CIDE. He has written seven books, and holds a B.A. and M.A. in economics from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), as well as a MPP from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.