ORU’s Secretary-General visit to Mexico

Between the 6 and 10 of last July, ORU’s Secretary- General travelled to México with the goal of establishing stronger cooperation ties with the governments of the country’s states. The first visit took place in Toluca, capital of the State of Mexico, where Carles Llorens met Governor Eruviel Ávila. The meeting concluded with very positive outcomes, notably the initiation of the procedures for the incorporation of the state to ORU, and the governor’s commitment, publicly announced in press conference, to promote the accession of the other thirty Mexican States, respecting their sovereignty at all times. The next day, the announcement acquired its full strength as governor Eruviel Ávila was selected president of the National Conference of Governors (CONAGO). In his investiture speech, Eruviel Ávila advocated for the need of internationalizing the organ in order to strengthen its actions and achievements. 

After this meeting, the Secretary General of ORU met with CONAGO’s Technical Secretary and with representatives and governors of the different country’s states, with whom he established cooperative ties and negotiated their possible accession to our organization. For instance, in the case of the State of Puebla, the International Affairs coordinator, Miguel Hakim, expressed his willingness to initiate a dialogue and cooperation with ORU. In the State of Jalisco, a meeting with the governor’s adviser, Rodrigo Aguilar, along with the coordinator of International Cooperation, Eduardo Arias, was held in order to set the basis of common work in areas such as climate change, transparency and the fight against corruption. 

The next meeting took place in Mexico City with Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, coordinator of Foreign Affairs of the Federal District Government, and the international adviser of the city, Eugene Zapata. Mexico City (México, D.F.) will become another State inside the Mexican federation and, therefore, the rapprochement of the DF Government to an organization of intermediate States such as ORU was deemed appropriate. During the meeting, attention was drawn to the convenience of establishing work dynamics between different capital regions.  

The Secretary General took advantage of this trip to visit the North American State of Florida, where he met Lieutenant Governor Carlos López Cantera. Carles Llorens highlighted the importance of this meeting declaring that “it is the first step of ORU in the United States of America.”