October 4, 2004
Love thy other neighbour
Why Mexico matters
by Catherine Young
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John Kirk | |
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John Kirk wants us to know that Canada has another North American neighbour besides the United States.
"There's a particular interest in Mexico ... because of tourism and because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)," says Kirk, Professor of Spanish, University Research Professor and an organizer of this year's Killam Lectures. This year's public talks are devoted to Mexico - its challenges, its future and its culture.
Kirk says that interest in Mexico and the Hispanic world has created increased demand for classes. "I teach a course on Mexico at HÂþ» which normally has 40 students. Last year, there were 150. We have a study abroad program in Mexico [HÂþ»'s program in Campeche] which has grown from two students five years ago to 23 last year. And here at HÂþ», the Spanish department is bursting at the seams."
Two hundred Mexican high school students are also learning English in Nova Scotia now. For trade, tourism and cultural reasons, Kirk says this year's Killams are "very timely indeed."
The first speaker, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, is one of Mexico's most influential political figures. He gave the first well-received lecture on Sept. 30. Diplomat Andrés Rozental, who Kirk calls "probably the single most influential figure in terms of Mexican foreign policy," will speak on Oct.  5. "Ten years after NAFTA, he's coming to speak on the good and the bad of the trade agreement," Kirk says.
Mexico's leading poet, Homero Aridjis, gives the final lecture on Oct. 21. He will illuminate his country's considerable influence on world art and culture.
Kirk, a noted Latin Americanist, has his own long standing interest in Mexico. His next book will compare Canada-Cuba Relations with Mexico-Cuba relations.
"Mexico and Canada were the only two countries in the early 1960s that didn't break relations with Cuba when the US lobbied very vigourously," says Kirk. "Canada has had its ups and downs in its relations with Cuba, as is the case with Mexico - there are many parallels."