The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Faculty of Economics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) have launched the lecture series “75 Years of ECLAC in Mexico: Thought, Policies and New Horizons for Development”. The series aims to analyse the challenges facing the region and debate public policy alternatives.

The series coincides with ECLAC’s 75 years of presence in Mexico and the 50th anniversary of UNAM’s Faculty of Economics. Specialists, academics and students are taking part in conversations on how to promote more productive, inclusive and sustainable development.

The first activity was a keynote lecture by Jorge Mario Martínez, Chief of ECLAC’s Subregional Headquarters in Mexico, who was joined by Lorena Rodríguez, Director of UNAM’s Faculty of Economics.

Martínez noted that universities can help understand current problems from different disciplines. He said that productive transformation, technological innovation, environmental sustainability and the reduction of inequalities require collaboration among economists, sociologists, philosophers, environmental specialists and professionals from other fields. He added that designing effective public policies requires dialogue across disciplines, joint academic work and solid evidence.

“The world has changed profoundly in recent decades, and Latin America and the Caribbean need to rethink their development strategies. In a context of geopolitical, technological and environmental transformations, the region needs a new development proposal that leads to public policies that make better use of its productive capacities and generate greater well-being. Experience suggests that the prosperity of societies increasingly depends on a complex economy, on the interdependence of social and economic actors, and on collaboration among multiple and diverse stakeholders,” he stated.

Rodríguez, for her part, highlighted the importance of Latin American economic thought in training new generations of economists. Among its key figures, she mentioned Raúl Prebisch, Fernando Fajnzylber and Osvaldo Sunkel.

“ECLAC and the Faculty of Economics share a history of intellectual ties that have made it possible to deepen Latin Americanist thought in our country, in our classrooms, courses and seminars. This tradition has enriched the training of new generations of economists and has enabled us to understand the challenges of regional development from our own reality,” Rodríguez said.

The programme will continue over the next four weeks with four workshops on ECLAC’s areas of work: economic and social development; sustainability and natural resources; and international trade and productive development.

Through these activities, both institutions seek to bring students and young specialists closer to ECLAC’s work in Mexico and Central America and to strengthen academic exchange on development challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean.