The 2024 Economic Perspectives Seminar, hosted at ITAM, offered a comprehensive overview of the economy’s situation both nationally and internationally. Among these outstanding tables, the Master Lecture by Eng. Carlos Slim about “Investment opportunities in Mexico” stood as the high point. Slim addressed the history of mexican development, focusing in four key stages. The event, that gathered prominent economists, businessmen and leaders in opinion, also explored other relevant issues like Latin America perspectives, economical forecasts, political-electoral scenarios and the vision of innovating sectors.

ITAM and its Alumni Association organize this Seminar year after year, with the objective of pondering on the most relevant and pertinent issues in the political, social and economic agenda of Mexico and the world.

 

During his opening, Dean Arturo Fernández, stated: “This Seminar allows us to reflect -individually and collectively- to create possibility conditions for our companies and public institutions ”.

Fernández pointed out that although last year recession forecasts dominated and the discussion focused on whether the fight against inflation would cause a soft or turbulent landing for the world economy, these did not occur and by the close of 2023 the world’s economies grew 3% and the inflation slowed.

“Undoubtedly, we celebrate that the world has overcome the economic devastation brought by the pandemic and that the mexican economy has grown more than expected (around 3.2%) and the inflation has subsided (at 4.5%)”, stated ITAM’s dean, not without warning that, “despite the positive digits in the economy, in Mexico and around the world, uneasiness and uncertainty still persist”, Dr. Arturo Fernández noted.

The seminar gathered over 500 attendees on ITAM campus, and a similar amount of attendees connected around the world via the Internet. In this way, as it is tradition, ITAM begins the year with an analysis of possible scenarios that our country might face during the following months.

Watch all the lectures and analysis tables of ITAM’s Economic Perspectives Seminar

The program of lectures and highlights of the seminar where the following:

8.00 h – Welcome

Humberto López, ITAM Alumni Association, President

8.15 h – Opening. Speech by the Dean of the Technological Insititue Autonomous of Mexico

Arturo Fernández, Dean, ITAM

8.30 h – Master Lecture – Perspectives for America (Zoom)

Ilan Goldfajn, President, Inter American Development Bank

9.00 h – Forecast Table

Carlos Capistrán, Chief Economist for Mexico and Canada, Bank of America

Ernesto Revilla, Chief Economist for Latin America, Citigroup

Alejandrina Salcedo, Economical Research General Manager, Bank of Mexico

Moderator: Miguel Messmacher, Dean of the Division of Social Sciences, ITAM

10:00 h – Table of political scenarios for Mexico’s elections

Luis Carlos Ugalde, General Manager, Integralia Consultores

Federico Reyes-Heroles, Chairman of the Governing Council, Mexican Transparency

Agustín Basave, Director of the Institute of Political Studies, University of Monterrey

Moderator: Alexandra Uribe, Director of the Political Science Undergraduate Program, ITAM

11.00 h – Networking

11.30 h – Master Lecture – Global Setting

Alan Stoga, President, Tallberg Foundation

Moderator: Natalia Saltalamacchia, Chair of the International Studies Department, ITAM

12.30 h – Vision of Innovating Sectors Table

Eduardo Garza T., President and Founder, Frisa

Hans-Joachim Kohlsdorf, Founding Partner, Energy to Market

Marlene Garayzar, Co-founder, Stori

Moderator: Guillermo I. García Alcocer, Executive Development Director, ITAM

13:30 h – Master Lecture – Investment Opportunities in Mexico

Carlos Slim, President, Telmex Foundation

14:30 h – Table: Mexico and the world from the US electoral perspective

Rafael Fernández de Castro, Director, Mexico-US UCSD Study Center

Arturo Sarukhán, President, Sarukhán and associates

Jorge Suárez-Vélez, Director, Allen & Company

Moderator: Ana María Salazar, Directora, Grupo Salazar Slack SC

15:30 h – Close

Alejandro Hernández,Provost, ITAM