Yearly Archives: 2013

Luis Rubio What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? When the economic reforms began and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was negotiated at the end of the eighties, the irresistible force was the urgency to achieve a high rate of economic growth. The immoveable object was the imperious need not […]

WILSON CENTER – Mexico Institute – By Luis Rubio and Luis de la Calle  While Mexico’s society is evolving fast, it surely has not become a fully transformed, democratic, wealthy Western country, but it is clearly moving in that direction. In our book, Mexico: A middle class society, Poor No More, Developed Not Yet, we argued that […]

Luis Rubio In his book From Beirut to Jerusalem Thomas Friedman describes his experiences as a correspondent in the Lebanese capital at the middle of the civil war that characterized that country some decades ago. In an especially vivid scene, while mortar explosions and shots were heard through the window, the hostess at a dinner […]

FORBES – Luis Rubio The visit of President Xi Jinping to Mexico constitutes a milestone not only in the bilateral relationship of the two nations but also in the broadest geopolitical dimension that, due to the growth of the Asian giant, changes day to day. For the Chinese government, the oriental culture of Sun Tzu […]

Luis Rubio How many jobs, and growth points, are the Mexican society –and its government- willing to lose because of the itch to preserve entelechies like Pemex and the CFE? The government has announced that it will guide itself by productivity criteria and that it will devote itself to creating conditions for accelerating its growth. […]

Luis Rubio The obsession with raising tax revenues reminds me of the film Brewster’s Millions, with Richard Pryor in the lead role. Brewster would receive an enormous inheritance but only if he spent 30 million dollars in one month or he’d lose it. The objective of the one bequeathing the funds was to show Pryor’s […]

INFOLATAM – Luis Rubio Eleições México  Ao final, todos ganharam algo que permitirá que a vida política siga adiante. O que se sofreu foram as excessivas expectativas de alguns dos concorrentes, estivessem nas cédulas eleitorais ou não. Ou seja, o México continua vivendo a normalidade. Este primeiro grupo de eleições locais nos seis anos de Enrique […]

INFOLATAM – Luis Rubio In the end, all won something that will let political life to carry on. What did suffer were the excessive expectations of some of the contenders, whether on the electoral ballot or not. That is, Mexico continues living its normality. This first group of local elections in Enrique Peña-Nieto’s six-year term […]

Luis Rubio “In a riot, as in a novel”, wrote Alexis de Tocqueville, “the most difficult thing is to invent the ending.” In this same book, Recollections, the astute French observer noted that “I am firmly convinced that chance can do nothing (without considering) antecedent facts, the nature of institutions, turns of mind, the state […]

    Luis Rubio In the book “The Power of Productivity”, William Lewis compares the construction industry in Brazil, the U.S., and Mexico. His conclusion is very simple: the Mexican worker without much education or many skills can be as productive as the most qualified German worker. What differentiates countries like Mexico and Brazil from […]