Former president of Mexico to speak at Baker Institute March 15

Former
president of Mexico to speak at Baker Institute March 15
…………………………………………………………………

BY B.J. ALMOND
Rice News Staff

Former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari will
discuss his newly published book, “Mexico: The Policy
and Politics of Modernization,” at the James A. Baker
III Institute for Public Policy at 6 p.m. March 15. He will
sign copies of the book, which will be on sale at the event,
after his presentation.

Salinas served
as president of Mexico from 1988 until 1994. He succeeded
Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado, becoming the first presidential
candidate from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)
to face competitive elections, which he won with 50.4 percent
of the vote.

A political
economist who studied at Harvard University, Salinas tried
to revive Mexico’s economy. He reduced inflation and
government regulations, and he signed the North American
Free Trade Agreement in 1992, reversing the country’s
historical opposition to United States’ involvement
in Mexico’s affairs.

Salinas’
brother, Raul, was arrested in 1995 for the murder of a
PRI official. The following year he was accused of misappropriating
massive public funds and later claimed that the transfer
of funds was done under the direction of the former president.
Salinas defended his administration in “Mexico, A Difficult
Step Towards Modernity,” a book published in 2000.

Rice students,
faculty and staff who plan to attend the lecture in James
A. Baker III Hall should R.S.V.P. to (713) 348-5794 by March
14.