Readout of Mayor Johnson's official visit to Mexico City
MONDAY
Mayor Eric Johnson arrived late Monday night in Mexico City on an American Airlines flight. He was greeted at Mexico City International Airport by Dallas Mexican Consul General Francisco de la Torre, who briefed the mayor on his way to the hotel.
TUESDAY
Mayor Johnson began the day by receiving a briefing on Mexico’s political and economic climate during a breakfast with Patrick O’Reilly, Economic Counselor for the U.S. State Department in the U.S. Embassy to Mexico, and Stephen Alley, Senior Commercial Officer for Mexico with the U.S. Commerce Department. The duo provided background on the mayor’s planned meetings and discussed the opportunities and challenges of working to enhance trade with Mexico.
Afterward, Mayor Johnson met de la Torre and traveled to the Ministry of Culture to meet with Raphael de la Madrid, Director General of the Ministry of Culture. The mayor and the director general exchanged ideas about how they could partner to bring more Mexican cultural events to Dallas. Mayor Johnson provided a gift box of Dallas-themed goods to the director general, who gave the mayor a lithograph.
Mayor Johnson and de la Torre then traveled to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where they were received by Roberto Velasco Alvarez, Mexico’s Chief Officer for North America. Mayor Johnson and Velasco discussed how they could work together at a subnational level to promote the trade relationship and cultural exchanges between Dallas and Mexico. They also agreed to explore a potential partnership in the medical field. The mayor provided Velasco with a customized Dallas Cowboys jersey.
The mayor then departed to debrief with his staff and de la Torre over lunch. Afterward, the mayor received a private tour of the National Museum of Anthropology. There, Mayor Johnson met the Secretary of Culture, Alejandra Frausto, who agreed to explore a partnership on a cultural program.
In the evening, Mayor Johnson attended a reception dinner at Hacienda de los Morales, which included representatives from Dallas-based international law firm Haynes and Boone and AT&T and North Texas-based American Airlines, all of which do business in Mexico. Agustin Arteaga, the Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art, and Alley, the U.S. Embassy official, also attended the dinner. Mayor Johnson delivered impromptu remarks thanking his hosts and de la Torre and detailing reasons why he chose to make his first international visit as mayor to Mexico. The mayor said the visit to Mexico and the connections made during the trip will take the city to the next level in the 21st century economy. With the guests, Mayor Johnson discussed ways that he could, as mayor, help deepen the economic and cultural ties between Mexico and the United States.
WEDNESDAY
Mayor Johnson began the day with breakfast with Velasco and de la Torre. The trio continued to discuss opportunities for collaboration and partnership.
Mayor Johnson then met with Secretary of Tourism Miguel Torruco, who provided a tour of his artifact-filled office. The mayor gave the secretary a Dallas gift box, and the secretary provided the mayor with a set of drinking glasses. The secretary then hosted a meeting for the mayor with the ministry's staff and with executives from four Mexican airlines that fly to Dallas. The secretary discussed the importance of tourism to the Mexican economy. The mayor said Dallas is back and open to the world, and that an increase in international tourism in Dallas could help take the city to the next level. Mayor Johnson said he hoped to grow the number of flights between Mexican cities and Dallas. The airline executives said they shared that goal and expressed a desire for more regular communication with Dallas leaders. The mayor agreed to connect them with leaders at DFW International Airport and VisitDallas to establish more regular communication. Finally, Secretary Torruco committed to visiting Dallas in the near future.
The mayor’s final meeting in Mexico City was with the Undersecretary of the Economy Luz María de la Mora. The undersecretary said she would like to help deepen Mexico’s economic relationship with Dallas. The undersecretary, who is helping to implement the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), said she was looking for opportunities to support semiconductor, automotive, and medical device manufacturing in Mexico and detailed potential challenges to those efforts, including some U.S. policy considerations and global conflicts. The undersecretary and mayor also discussed the possibilities of collaborating on mutually beneficial workforce development programs.
Mayor Johnson said the meeting highlighted the importance of subnational diplomacy and agreed to continue working together on their shared goals. The secretary said she hoped to visit Dallas this year. At the conclusion of the meeting, Mayor Johnson provided the undersecretary with a Dallas gift box.
Mayor Johnson is scheduled to depart Wednesday evening for meetings in Monterrey, Dallas’ Sister City. A readout of those meetings will be provided to the media Thursday evening.
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