Meeting with Mexican Ambassador
On Monday 15 October, committee members Te Rangikaheke Kiripatea and Iain Middleton had a very fruitful meeting with the Mexican ambassador, Dr José Gerardo Traslosheros Hernández, at the Mexican embassy in Wellington.
Dr Traslosheros Hernández holds a PhD in economics with a primary and long standing interest and involvement in business and international trade agreements. More recently, he has become interested in Basic Income. The ambassador has worked to develop trade between Mexico and New Zealand with a particular interest in trade between indigenous people. Mexico, he pointed out, has more than sixty indigenous cultures speaking an equal number of different languages.
The ambassador is interested in the benefits that a Basic Income might bring to a country in general and to indigenous people in particular. It seems that some Mexican politicians are developing an interest in the possibilities of a Basic Income. After a discussion on Basic Income, the ambassador proposed holding a seminar on Basic Income in Wellington with one or more speakers selected from BINZ and other Basic Income advocates. He offered the Mexican Embassy as a venue. The ambassador would use his contacts to invite academics from New Zealand universities, business leaders, and representatives from other embassies and consulates in New Zealand. Further details of the proposed seminar were to be determined at subsequent meetings.
Unfortunately, shortly after the meeting the ambassador was notified that due to a change of government, he was to be recalled to Mexico almost immediately. This was very disappointing as the proposed seminar would be an excellent way of promoting Basic Income. The ambassador intends to further his interest in Basic Income after his return to Mexico.
