Ricardo B. Salinas Addresses Council on Foreign Relations Regarding a Mexican Business Perspective on Bilateral Relations and Immigration

NEW YORK, Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Salinas, a group of dynamic, fast-growing and technologically advanced companies deeply committed to the modernization of the countries in which they operate, is pleased to share a recent address by its Founder and Chairman Ricardo B. Salinas Pliego to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City.

During a dialogue moderated by CFR board member and Boeing Brazil President Donna Jean Hrinak, Mr. Salinas commented on his views regarding immigration, good government practices and security in Mexico and Latin America.

He started on a very positive note. "When you look at Latin America in general and specifically Mexico, you see a lot of young people who are vibrant and think they are going to live better than their parents," he said. "There's a lot of opportunity and that gives me cheer." Nevertheless, he added that many governments in the region have made a lot of major strategic mistakes when it comes to management.

With much recent focus on the war on drugs, many administrations are neglecting areas such as public investment, job creation, industrial policy and normal day-to-day security issues. He also called for reform to create stronger justice systems across Latin America, including the integration of technology and best practices.

He added that a lack of streamlined regulation is an important obstacle for the development of small businesses and said that this segment could be an important detonator of job and economic growth with the proper incentives.

Overregulation of the consumer and small-business finance industry is also responsible for a limited supply to credit at the bottom of the pyramid, he said. "When you put caps on interest rates, the only thing you do is effectively say that there will be no credit below a certain threshold, since the cost of giving loans and collecting loans have certain fixed costs regardless of whether a loan is for $400; $4,000 or $400,000.

On the subject of immigration, he said "it's time to look at things the way they really are. These immigrants from Mexico are here and many of them have been here for a long time. You can't ignore that fact. Most of them are really hardworking people. We need to start talking about immigration as business leaders."

More details on the talk are available at www.cfr.org.

Mr. Salinas also participated in a talk for Zocalo Public Forum, held at The Paley Center for Media that was moderated by U.S. correspondent for the Economist, Matthew Bishop.

The talk is available at www.zocalopublicsquare.org.

Grupo Salinas

Grupo Salinas (www.gruposalinas.com) is a group of dynamic, fast growing, and technologically advanced companies focused on creating shareholder value, building the Mexican middle class, and improving society through excellence. Created by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo B. Salinas (www.ricardosalinas.com), Grupo Salinas operates as a management development and decision forum for the top leaders of member companies. These companies include:: TV Azteca (www.tvazteca.com.mx; irtvazteca.com), Azteca America (www.aztecaamerica.com), Grupo Elektra (www.grupoelektra.com.mx), Banco Azteca (www.bancoazteca.com.mx), Afore Azteca (www.aforeazteca.com.mx), Seguros Azteca (www.segurosazteca.com.mx) and Grupo Iusacell (www.iusacell.com). Each of the Grupo Salinas companies operates independently, with its own management, board of directors and shareholders. Grupo Salinas has no equity holdings.

Council on Foreign Relations

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.

Contact:
Daniel McCosh
+52 (55) 1720-0059
[email protected]

SOURCE Grupo Salinas, Banco Azteca, Grupo Elektra, Azteca and Ricardo Salinas Pliego