“The world has entered what perhaps will prove to be the worse financial and economic crisis that we have had at least since the end of WWII,” Ernesto Zedillo, Mexico’s president from 1994 through 2000, and the last of the 70-year-long PRI party rule, said in his speech celebrating the Institute of the Americas’ 25th anniversary last Saturday at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines. Created in 1983, the Institute of the Americas fosters political, social and economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America.
In his talk, Zedillo warned not to repeat mistakes prompted by the “economic shocks” of the 1970s: “…the way we confronted those international shocks, we entered a dramatic economic instability of degrading and sometimes null economic growth, inflation and hyper-inflation and ended being poorer countries than we were before.” Meanwhile, guests who forked upwards of $3,000 a table munched on their spinach and stilton salad with roasted pears, spiced sea bass with mango dijon cream and banana caramel tarts with rum crème anglaise.
Ever the optimist, the former head of state concluded his 30-minute talk by recognizing the efforts that many Latin-American countries have made in the last 20 years to become more democratic: “If we had not done that, I am sure that in the first presentation of the current crisis, our economies would of shown devastation,” adding, “I believe that those countries, like mine, that have made more progress in strengthening their democracies will be the countries that do well in the face of the current circumstances.”
I tried to ask Zedillo to ask him a couple of questions after his talk. “I already spoke. Good night,” he told me.
The price for having Zedillo deliver a speech like this one? According to an e-mail obtained by CityBeat, sent by Bob Parsons, vice president of Washington Speakers Bureau, which “exclusively” represents Zedillo, it’s a hefty one: $60,000.00 plus “first-class expenses for two and one coach class expenses for one” (from Connecticut).
Along with public speaking engagements, Zedillo currently works as Director of Yale’s Center for the Study of Globalization and is part of the Washington-based financial advisory body, the Group of Thirty. He’s also a member of the board of directors of Procter & Gamble, a member of the Coca-Cola Company International Advisory Board and Director of Union Pacific Corporation.
Those of us who surf the San Diego beaches, by which I mean OB, PB and La Jolla, may have noticed that this was one crappy month for waves. Normally by now we can count on at least a couple of decent wave days, but lately, no surge. Practically everyday, the dude from 
