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"I consider myself an Ambassador who tries to see niches of opportunity, beyond the traditional areas of politics and the economy."

Telos: We often ask ourselves: What does an ambassador do? What does it mean to represent your country? What kind of ambassador do you intend to be in Italy? How much weight have you decided to give to your political, economic and cultural role?

Carlos Garcia de Alba: I am a career diplomat. In Mexico there are career and politically appointed ambassadors. I have been a diplomat for 34 years, and I have climbed the career ladder to reach the rank of Ambassador.
Over the years, I have figured out one fundamental thing: yes, I am a representative of the Mexican government, but I am also, and above all, a representative of the Mexican State, a far more complex concept. State also means people, spirit, grit, history, and it has a far broader meaning than government.
That said, I am still an emissary of the Mexican government. I am an economist, and I am from a family of businessmen. Then, I earned a PhD in Political Science and Sociology at the Sapienza University of Rome. This is also maybe why I try to be a holistic, across-the-board ambassador. Each country is different. Each new appointment, for me, means research, study, curiosity, getting to know a country. When I was sent to Italy, a country I already knew and where I had been as a young diplomat, the first element that stood out for me was the strong economic and commercial relationship between our Countries. I would say that the backbone of the relationship between Italy and Mexico centres on this economic and commercial relationship. Then, there is also a positive, cordial political relationship. I asked myself how I could combine these two things. By reinforcing the economic relationship and fostering mutual investment. Mexico is the only country in Latin American that has large investments in Italy, over two billion euros. The political relationship, albeit cordial and positive, could be taken to a higher level, become more regular and more frequent. A challenge, because in this global world, there is a lot of competition. So, it is difficult for any government to treat all countries with the same care. This is the Ambassador’s challenge: to ensure that the government, of the Country they have been sent to, thinks it is worth the effort to dialogue, make work plans and start working together. So, no area can be overlooked. Here are two examples: culture and sport. Mexico and Italy are two cultural powers. Few countries in the world have a history as rich as ours. And I mean archaeology, anthropology, gastronomy, festivals, traditions, cinema, even beverages. All this is soft power. Over these years of international competition, soft power has been a tremendous resource. The Mexicans and Italians are passionate about sport, especially football. I don’t understand why sport has never been an important part of our relationship, so I’m trying to work towards building on this, diversifying and bringing us closer. I consider myself an Ambassador who tries to see niches of opportunity, beyond the traditional areas of politics and the economy.

So, Mexico and Italy share a strong bond of friendship with great cooperation potential that is largely untapped?

Here, I’d like to take advantage of the opportunity to remind people that sometimes we think saying we like and love each other is enough, but I am not convinced. For a long time, we have done nothing more than make these statements of principle, and we have wasted opportunities. It is true that we like each other. If a Mexican hears the word “Italy”, he breaks into a smile, and vice versa. But that’s not enough. We need to grow and deepen our relationship, and mainly we need to extend, throughout the country, initiatives that are often concentrated in big cities. Italy and Mexico are very territorial Countries, so we have to look for opportunities in small- and medium-sized towns as well, where there is space for business and for cultural, academic, sports and technology exchanges.
There is no doubt that our dialogue is very focussed on economics and commerce. There are 1600 Italian companies in Mexico that invest and create jobs. There could be many more.
For example, many Italian companies and trade associations still do not understand well the value of the NAFTA, a free trade agreement among three Countries with a greater trade volume than the EU.
North America is the top commercial bloc in the world, and Mexico is part of that. Lots of Italian companies I meet often do not realise or even know about it. They know the name, but not the substance and details.
It is essential to spread awareness about and look more closely at NAFTA. What is more, we need to identify specific opportunities for different types of Italian and Mexican business. However, the opposite is also true.
I have not heard Mexican entrepreneurs, institutions or the Government talk much about investing in Italy, in a particular industrial sector or region. Mexico has a long tradition of capital export and international investment. Some important Mexican investors are already in Italy, but there could be many more.
On 30 November Italy’s term as G20 president ended, and I would like to acknowledge the professional, careful job they have done during a very complex year. Italy and the Italian Government should be proud of having been an effective president, that created consensus on issues it was hard to find agreement on. Mexico participated actively, mainly in person and virtually on some occasions.
We were among the few Countries present at all the meetings, even the business meetings, and I am proud of that. In the B20 (Business20) meeting, the only Ambassador of the 20 participating countries was the Mexican one, because they were going to be discussing issues that are very relevant to my Country.

Mexico is an emerging power, with increasing demographic and economic weight on the international scene. How would you explain to an Italian the role Mexico can play in the world in the next 10 years? And how much does the foreign policy of the US impact this role?

Clearly, the world is globalising, but it is also regionalising. A few years ago, competition was between countries. Then, starting with the first free-trade agreement, the one between Australia and New Zealand, other similar agreements proliferated. The EU, Mercosur, these are examples of this development. Mexico belongs to North America with the US and Canada. It does not belong to Central and South America, as is often thought. Our economy is closely integrated with that of the US and Canada.
Do you remember that President Trump said, “I’ll get rid of the worst single trade deal ever made in the history of the United States: NAFTA.” But what happened? Not only did they not get rid of it, they strengthened it.
Now we are three integrated economies with production chains that cannot survive without the others. So, in the next 10 years, I see our region becoming even more economically and commercially integrated, just like I see more integration with the EU.
This does not mean political sovereignty will be sacrificed or eliminated. We are independent Countries and we know our neighbour very well: it is the first world power. If there is one country that knows the US well, I think it is Mexico.
Our bilateral relations are incredibly complex: a border 2300 km long, 2 million dollars in commercial traffic an hour, the border between San Diego and Tijuana is the most intensely crossed in the world, and there are also water distribution issues regarding the rivers that cross the borders! What is more, we have a lot of common goals that we always have to agree on. I see our relationship with the US becoming closer, and the two governments have figured out they always have to agree for the benefit of both of them.

Since you were appointed Ambassador of Mexico to the Republic of Italy in June 2019, you have travelled all over our Country. What condition have you found Italy in after some time?

I really admire Italy. I told this to President Mattarella when I submitted my credentials.
I told him I consider myself a lucky Mexican who is responsible for representing his government here, and I added that I have come to pay a debt to this country which gave me my academic training, a beautiful language to speak and my son – my only son was born in Rome. I am extremely appreciative and have come to pay this debt with my work! I have travelled far and wide, both as a young man and as a diplomat.
Covid slowed down my plans, but I have managed to officially visit 16 of the 20 Italian Regions, and I have been to some of them three, four, even five times in an official capacity.
I can say that Italy looks much better, I see people with greater international vocation. For example, one of the things that struck me positively is that now many Italians speak English correctly and fluently. It was not like that 40 years ago. I see a Country with exceptional resources and talent and with a great desire to do things.
I’d like to tell you an anecdote: when the Mexican Senate ratified my appointment, a Senator asked me this question: “Ambassador, what do you think you’re going to do to eliminate the commercial imbalance between Mexico and Italy?”
I answered that it is hard for an Ambassador to eliminate a big commercial deficit like the one between Mexico and Italy, which is 4 to 1. But if you look closely, Mexico does not buy many ties, shoes or bags…The real trade between Mexico and Italy is based on technology, machines. I am 63 years old, and when I graduated in Mexico, the Mexican economy was based on oil. 80% of the Mexican economy was based on oil and gas. Today 4% of the Mexican economy is based on oil and gas.
In one generation, Mexico has become the manufacturing power of Latin America. How? By opening to international markets and believing in free trade as well as by taking advantage of the technology and machines of two important countries: Italy and Germany.
They have given us technology and machines to become a power, the eighth exporting power in the world. So, we thank this Italy that is full of talent, creativity, genius, of engineers, of scientists, who can turn it into an exporting power.

Marco Sonsini