THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE CELEBRATES CALIFORNIA-MEXICO ADVOCACY DAY; THIS YEAR’S THEME IS ACADEMIC MOBILITY

Today, the California legislature celebrated California-Mexico Advocacy Day, an annual event to bring attention to priority topics of shared interest.

This year’s focus is on academic mobility and cooperation. There will be a special hearing in the State Legislature, convened by Senator Lou Correa, President of the Senate Select Committee on California-Mexico Relations. In previous years, the topics addressed were border facilitation, natural disaster response, trade and the environment.

The Mexican consulate in Sacramento, together with the Universia-Mexico organization and Cien Amigos, a civic group, organized a working visit of a dozen Mexican educational institutions. They met with legislators, academics, university administrators and others. The agenda also includes meetings to find new ways to cooperate in the fields of science, technology and innovation with the University of California system, the top destination for Mexican graduate fellows in the United States; private universities; and the State University system.

Represented at the event were: the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM); the University of Baja California; Anahuac Norte University; Anahuac Mayab University; the Center for Technical and Higher Education; the Federation of Private Mexican Institutions of Higher Education; the Foreign Ministry; the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT); the governments of Jalisco and Puebla; and the Mexico-United States Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (COMEXUS).

During the visit, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Foreign Ministry and the University of California at Davis (UCD) Law School to improve legal aid for Mexicans in northern California, knowledge of the Mexican legal system in the United States and the training of young Mexican Foreign Service members. The creation of an internship program organized by UCD, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, the MATLAC organization and the Mexican consulate in Sacramento as part of the "Talent Network" of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME) was also announced.

These initiatives are consistent with the agreement reached a few days ago by the presidents of Mexico and the United States to develop a shared vision of educational cooperation and to encourage collaboration and coordinated policies.

Mexico is California´s most important international market. Mexican imports from California totaled 26 billion dollars in 2012; its exports that same year totaled 36 billion. According to official U.S. figures, 15 million people of Hispanic origin live in California, 82 percent of them Mexican or with Mexican roots.