May 6, 2004

Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow To Discuss His
New Book and U.S. - Mexico Relations in May 11 Talk at UCSD

By Paula Cichocka

Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow, director of the Institute of the Americas, adjunct professor at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, will discuss his new book, The U.S. and Mexico: The Bear and the Porcupine at 4 p.m. on May 11 at the University of California, San Diego Faculty Club. The event is co-sponsored by IR/PS and the Institute of the Americas and is free and open to the public.

Davidow assumed the presidency of the Institute of the Americas on June 1, 2003. After completion of 34 years of service in the U.S. Department of State, he retired as America's highest-ranking diplomat, one of only three persons to hold the personal rank of Career Ambassador. During his Foreign Service career, Davidow focused much of his efforts on improving relations with Latin America. He served in increasingly senior positions in the U.S. embassies in Guatemala, Chile, and Venezuela, and then later returned to Venezuela as ambassador from l993-1996. From 1996 to 1998, as Assistant Secretary for Latin America, he was the State Department's chief policy maker for the hemisphere. He was then named as ambassador to Mexico, serving from 1998 to 2002. Initially appointed to that position by President Clinton, he was asked to remain in the post for an additional 18 months by President Bush.

In his book, Davidow outlines the forces drawing Mexico and the U.S. together as well as the ignorance and arrogance on both sides that impede greater cooperation. Part memoir, part political analysis, this book discusses presidents Bush and Fox, reveals the political manipulation of U.S. intelligence about the Mexican drug world, and explains the failure of U.S. immigration policy as well as the difficulties of finding workable solutions. Davidow concludes the book with an epilogue envisioning the future of U.S.-Mexican relations.

In Foreign Affairs, Kenneth Maxwell wrote, "[The book has] fascinating vignettes of the principal actors in Mexico City [and] sharp profiles of leading U.S. politicians and diplomats. [The book is] an outstanding brief analysis of migration, ...an insightful account of the circumstances that led to Fox's victory. É [It is] widely discussed in Mexico ...and it deserves an equally wide reading in the United States."

Media Contact: Paula Cichocka, (858) 534-1465 or pcichocka@ucsd.edu