Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Almost two years after the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has been in force, an analysis of the Mexican automotive sector is presented, as well as the conditions that characterize its integration with the North American region.In principle, a study of the basic elements that explain the evolution of the automotive sector installed in Mexico, whose antecedents go back almost a century of history, was carried out; Subsequently, the conditions that gave rise to the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are evaluated, a process that culminated in the signing of the USMCA.An explanation was incorporated on the provisions related to the determination of the regional origin of vehicles manufactured in North America, to conclude with the preparation of Results and Perspectives for the sector, one year after the USMCA is in force.

A review of the current literature on interdisciplinary studies in the United States of America (USA) indicates that the notions of common ground and integration, as ontological keys of the interdisciplinary essence, are generating a wide epistemological dispute between two academic fronts: On the other hand, the supporters of the "integrationist" approach, and, on the other, the defenders of the process of "general application" of interdisciplinary studies. Considering both positions, this article analyzes some of the most developed critical formulations regarding the role played by both common ground and integration in the process of implementing interdisciplinary research. First, the text analyzes the narrative keys that have historically sustained the American “integrationist tradition”. Then, discusses the antagonistic critical positions, based on the “generalist approach”. It closes by evaluating what are they, and what do they consist of, the central meta-theoretical assumptions that support both fronts.

The impact of SARSCoV2 have been geographically differentiated. In general terms, the highest rates of infections, deaths and lethality take place in the West as opposed to what is observed in the East. In this paper, an approach to the pandemic is made from the point of view of the civic-political culture, by taking into account the predominance that the individual has in Western nations compared to the relevance that the collectivity/community has in Eastern nations, and through the use of a model based on a triple analysis: geographical-civilizational considerations, political philosophy and political regime. Eleven countries are analyzed according to Samuel Huntington's civilizing typology: four western, five non-western countries and two split or hybrid countries. Our conclusions suggests that countries where civic-political freedoms around the community predominate have had a lower incidence of infections / deaths during the current pandemic. The analysis reveals the importance of civic-political culture in dealing with emergencies such as the SARSCoV2 pandemic.

In this article, two phenomena closely related to racism are analyzed: segregation and discrimination of the immigrant population from Mexico. Based on the analysis of 15 experiences of immigrant women and men, it is revealed how racialization is expressed in the patterns of settlement, at work, and in everyday life in different California cities. It is assumed that the socio-spatial segregation and discrimination of the immigrant population from Mexico is deeply linked to race -as a category of primary inequality. Immigration status often justifies inequality when it comes to the immigrant population, but it also hides the effect of racial relations and hierarchies that have defined and maintained the position of groups. The results show what is life like in segregated contexts and the forms of discrimination faced by Mexican immigrants.

Given the possibility that an automotive company located in Mexico could be accused of social dumping if it does not respect the rules of the T-MEC and the internal norms on freedom of association and bargaining, which require union representativeness and workers' support for collective bargaining, it could be expected that future negotiations will establish explicit criteria aimed at wage recovery. In this context, it is important to consider by how much wages should be raised in order to avoid becoming precarious in the automotive industry. Given the existing wage heterogeneity among different companies, derived from regional characteristics and different technological levels and product segments, this article asks how generalized or specific the wage determination in future union negotiations should be. To provide an answer, this article compares living wages calculated for companies located in different regions, with different country of origin, seniority, market segment and production volume. From this exercise, wage gaps are identified that can serve as a reference in negotiations under the new T-MEC labor regulations. The article performs an ad hoc adaptation of the living wage methodology of Anker and Anker (2017) in plants in Aguascalientes (Nissan I and II), Hermosillo (Ford), Puebla (VW), San Luis Potosí (General Motors) and Toluca (Chrysler-Fiat), calculated for 2017 and 2019.

This article addresses the water management in Mexicali related to the surface sources of the Colorado River and the subway sources of the Mexicali Valley aquifer, both of which are transboundary in nature. It examines the environmental and social implications of governmental decisions regarding the Constellation Brands brewery megaproject in a semi-arid area threatened by climate change. Through the water governance framework and using a qualitative research approach, the analysis shows that the promotion of the megaproject was implemented with failures in the processes of inclusion of local social actors. Also, it is determined that its operation would have negative effects on available water sources.   

Far from being a "natural" evolution within epidemiology and public health, the development of global epidemiological surveillance systems adapted to identify unexpected biological threats respond, in fact, to technoscientific discourses that incorporate specific perspectives and political interests. The objective of this article seeks to demonstrate how US national security prerogatives had a crucial influence on the design of new technical practices of disease surveillance that were incorporated into the policies and regulations of the WHO in the mid-1990s. Through original documentary and archival research, the article demonstrates the influence of security concerns regarding the proliferation of biological weapons and potential bioterrorist attacks in the concept of "emerging infectious diseases" and, moreover, in the development of novel epidemiological surveillance systems. The article's conclusion suggests that, indeed, the American biosecurity discourse has had a decisive role in the development of contemporary epidemiological knowledge and practices. Arguing, additionally, that this discussion is useful in showing the limits of said innovations and reveals what and whom they aim to protect.

El espíritu empresarial migrante, el empresario migrante en la sociedad de destino, es un fenómeno que ha sido analizado con cierta amplitud, teórica y empíricamente, desde distintas disciplinas sociales y económicas, no tanto desde la historia, principalmente en Estados Unidos y Europa, aun cuando desde la academia mexicana se han elaborado investigaciones destacadas, hay asuntos interesantes por analizar. La realidad del migrante internacional es heterogénea, multifacética y muestra un corolario de efectos e impactos en la sociedad de destino y de origen. El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar teórica, conceptualmente, y hacer un balance de la literatura alrededor del emprendimiento migrante. La metodología empleada es la revisión documental, bibliográfica y hemerográfica de lo analizado alrededor del mundo sobre la realidad empresarial e inversora de los migrantes internacionales. En México aún no se ha investigado prolíficamente, a pesar del crecimiento en las últimas décadas de empresarios migrantes mexicanos en Estados Unidos. Se intenta con ello, acercarse a este tópico ya que desde México hay mucho por develar sobre este asunto en particular.

Algunos especialistas consideran que Norteamérica es una región en la que predomina una noción contradictoria acerca del agua: mientras se padecen estragos derivados de la falta de infraestructura para satisfacer la demanda de agua, al mismo tiempo se registra su abundancia física en los cuerpos superficiales y en el subsuelo; Canadá ilustra el caso. Su extensión territorial favorecida por su vecindad con el Polo Norte, la influencia que recibe de los tres océanos limítrofes y su vegetación abundante, son elementos que favorecen la existencia de enormes glaciares, permafrost, nieves perpetuas y ríos con caudales abundantes en el San Lorenzo, Yukón, Columbia, Milk y los Grandes Lagos, entre otros. En contraste, a México se le considera un país desértico y con problemas de escasez de agua física, sobre todo hasta el límite con la línea del Trópico de Cáncer -casi el 50 % del territorio nacional-. Entre ambos países, a los Estados Unidos de América se le considera un territorio de transición entre la escasez y la abundancia, pero en donde el agua rebasa las determinaciones anteriores para posicionarse como un elemento estratégico para el desarrollo económico y la estabilidad política regional

In 2020 China displaced the United States as the main country of origin of cross-border M&A type investments and ranked fourth as the origin of new greenfield projects. In the regional context, since 2010 Mexico appears as the second destination of Chinese direct investment directed to manufacturing and as the first destination in the automotive auto parts industry (AAI). The article examines the determinants of Chinese direct investment in Mexico from a regional perspective and from the case study of the Chinese multinational Minth based on Aguascalientes, Mexico. The results allow us to conclude that the growing presence of direct investment by Chinese private companies in the AAI is explained by the favorable prospects for demand generated by the presence of global assemblers in Mexico and geographic and institutional variables such as the proximity whit United States, the agglomeration economies presence and benefits of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).