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Over the years, I have attended numerous meetings in Mexico City organized by different organizations. The more successful have included one or two with cabinet members; others were scheduled only to be canceled at the last minute.
So I was skeptical when invited to last October's three-day U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce semiannual board of directors meeting in Mexico City. The agenda included meetings with no less than the eight most important (from a standpoint of business and investment) cabinet members, and with President Zedillo. A breakfast with Porfirio Muñoz Ledo, Congressional whip for the PRD, and a former Ambassador to the United Nations was planned. As if this were not enough, a welcoming reception was to be hosted by U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow at his residence.
My host was my brother, Salvatore, chairman and president of Delta Diversified Services Inc., a financial and telephone services provider to niche markets based in Los Angeles, and a board member of the Chamber's California Pacific Division chapter. Sal is an old hand in the U.S.-Mexico business game, so when I hesitated in accepting, he assured me the U.S.-Mexico Chamber was unlike any organization I had ever encountered.
Whatever thoughts I had about having an easy three days immediately were dispelled. Within an hour of landing in Mexico City a hectic pace of meetings started. Every one of those cabinet secretaries scheduled to meet with us did so. Each session was intense, informative, revealing, frank and candid, with a give and take of questions and answers. President Zedillo received the group at Los Pinos, the presidential residence, at the appointed time, spending more than an hour and one-half listening, joking and exchanging ideas. It was, to say the least, very informative and impressive.
Also impressive were the chamber members traveling to Mexico City. They were directors of the various chapters in the United States and Mexico. The group included top or senior management from such recognizable companies as Boeing, Bell Helicopter, Mattel and Deloitte-Touche, plus leading law firms, business firms and industrialists.
"Why were they in attendance?" I asked the numerous members when the opportunity arose. While the answers varied, the consensus was it was important to their companies to get a feel for what was happening in Mexico. What are the country's future plans? Does Mexico have a handle on the current financial peso devaluation and its effects on trade? How is the privatization of power generation, natural gas distribution, railroads, seaports and airports coming along? On the environmental front, what policies were in the making and private sector opportunities being opened? How are relations between the U.S. and Mexico from the Mexican perspective? What are the driving issues — those that can have a negative or positive effect on the private sector?
What better way to find out than to meet with the nation's policy makers? All said, the trip was time and money well spent. All had positive things to say about the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce and its programs.
From long years of experience, I can say this: To do what the U.S.-Mexico Chamber did (and I am told, this is not the first time), takes lots of clout that is earned over a long period through hard and dedicated work.
But most important, each of the officials we met with reacted to the chamber as a friend. This was not the first time they've dealt with the chamber, and their actions demonstrated their high regard. That same respect was evident during conversations with members of Mexico's opposition parties, PAN and PRD, who were present at some of the various meetings. Porfirio Muñoz Ledo was with the group at breakfast providing some candid observations on Mexico's current political situation. (The day after the breakfast with the chamber, Muñoz Ledo declared his candidacy for the presidential nomination of his party, the PRD, in opposition to Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, Mexico City mayor.)
Serving as honorary presidents of the chamber are the two countries' ambassadors, Jesus Reyes Heroles from Mexico, and Jeffrey Davidow from the U.S. Both were present at the meeting with President Zedillo. The U.S. consul generals in Mexico and the Mexican consul generals in the U.S. are all honorary members.
The chamber's membership already consists of some of the biggest names in U.S. and Mexican industrial, business, professional and financial sectors, along with public sector representation and numerous educational, professional and service organizations.
The U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce is a very impressive organization with clout and solid and effective programs deserving consideration for membership from anyone interested in or doing business in Mexico.
Patrick Osio Jr. can be reached through Metropolitan Magazine or by e-mail at posiojr@aol.com
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