THE FOREIGN MINISTRY WELCOMES THE DECISION OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM TO END THE BAN ON ACADEMIC EXCHANGES IN MEXICO

The Foreign Ministry welcomes the decision of the California State University system to end the ban on academic exchanges in Mexico for their students that began three years ago due to alleged security concerns.  After a thorough evaluation and in order to apply clear and specific criteria, from now on each case will be assessed on its merits.

With 23 institutions and more than 425,000 students, the California State University system is the largest public university system in the United States. This announcement will have a positive impact on bilateral educational cooperation, a key part of the ties between our two societies. Several groups of students and teachers as well as civic organizations and leaders of the California legislature had spoken in favor of this change in policy.

Mexico is California’s most important international market. Mexico imported 26 billion dollars of goods from California in 2012, while Mexican exports to California totaled 36 billion. According to official U.S. figures, 14 million people of Hispanic origin live in California.