Mexico and Canada beyond Politics

Abstract

Several anniversaries coincide with this issue of Voices of Mexico. Our center is thirty-five years old this year. But, also, it actually officially became the CISAN thirty years ago when it created the first Canadian Studies Area, not only at the unam, but also in Latin America, in response to becoming more familiar with our neighbor further to the north when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect. This year, however, we also celebrate eighty years of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Canada, a milestone that was celebrated both by government and academia early this year. How surprised were we when in late February, right after the commemorations, the Canadian government issued a notification that Mexican tourists would now be required to get a visa to travel there, an act that seemed to me to be almost ironic. It is even more surprising that Mexicans with U.S. visas will have priority for getting the Canadian visa, thus excluding many, many from our country who want to travel to Canada (p. 5).