8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

* Please note this meeting will be conducted in Spanish.

5:30–7:30 p.m. Meeting

Contact Michael McCarthy at 202-518-3418 or mmccarthy@cfr.org

Contact: Tomas Amorim at 212-434-9616 or tamorim@cfr.org

Contact: Nora Kahn at 212-434-9610 or nkahn@cfr.org

Contact: Michael M. McCarthy at 202-518-3418 or mmccarthy@cfr.org

Contact: Tomás Amorim 212-434-9616 or tamorim@cfr.org

Contact: Tomas Amorim at 212-434-9616 or tamorim@cfr.org

After 70 years of authoritarian rule and stage-managed presidential successions, one of the most important elections since the Second World War will take place in Mexico in July 2000. Competition among the political parties-best reflected in the 1997 midterm election when the PRI lost its historical dominance in Congress-has increased dramatically, giving more opportunities to the opposition presidential candidates. On November 7, a new era in Mexican politics was inaugurated with PRI's historic first primary, which was run with a degree of legitimacy unseen for several decades, and saw Francisco Labastida emerge as the clear PRI candidate. But the path to democracy runs through dangerous minefields. The banking crisis, social insecurity and rising violence and crime, particularly in Mexico City, the unresolved Chiapas conflict, and the unequal distribution of income and poverty are only a few of the issues the candidates will face.

Luis Rubio, Director of CIDAC - Center of Research and Development, an independent institution devoted to the study of economic and political policy issues, will discuss this complex transition period confronting Mexico. Dr. Rubio is author and editor of nearly thirty volumes, including Mexico's Dilemma: The Political Origins of Economic Crisis and Political Reform: Necessary Component of Modernity. His most recent book is Mexican Democracy.

The election of Fernando de la Rúa on October 24 ended a decade during which Carlos Menem and the Justicialist Party dominated the Argentine political scene, in power longer than any other president. De la Rúa, the center-left Alliance candidate, achieved a comfortable victory, having campaigned on a platform of sobriety and "moral change" that proved attractive to voters. However, Argentina still faces enormous political and economic challenges.

Dr. Rosendo Fraga is Executive Director of the Centro de Estudios Unión para la Nueva Mayoría, a research center on military, political, and historical topics. Dr. Felipe de la Balze who has wide experience in the private sector, is a Board Member of the Centro Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales (CARI) and Professor of International Economics at Argentina's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Schools. Dr. Fraga will address the political consequences of the election, while Dr. de la Balze will examine the economic and financial repercussions.