Carin Zissis

Host at Latin America in Focus Podcast

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Articles

Six Facts to Understand Mexico's 2025 Judicial Elections

3 weeks ago | as-coa.org | Carin Zissis

From candidate totals to voter turnout, learn about the country’s unprecedented election. Mexico kicked off June by taking an unprecedented step: holding a national election to select the members of not only its Supreme Court, but also hundreds of federal and state-level judges and magistrates.
Aurora Jiménez Was Mexico’s First, Forgotten Congresswoman

3 weeks ago | zocalopublicsquare.org | Carin Zissis

When Aurora Jiménez de Palacios took her seat in Mexico’s Congress in 1954, the country’s women still hadn’t been able to vote in a national election. The 28-year-old, showered with confetti and joined by her young daughter, climbed the steps of the Chamber of Deputies, becoming Mexico’s first congresswoman—and opening the door for seven decades of women’s rising legislative power. In October 2024, Mexico inaugurated Claudia Sheinbaum as its first woman president.
In Mexico, the Push for a National Care System Is Gaining Momentum

Mar 24, 2025 | worldpoliticsreview.com | Carin Zissis

At the heart of unpaid care work in Mexico lies a paradox: The labor sustains the economy, even as it creates barriers to women joining the workforce. All told, the value of uncompensated domestic labor in Mexico amounts to more than 26 percent of GDP, outpacing both the manufacturing sector and trade, according to the country’s statistics agency. Yet roughly 20 million Mexican women are not employed because they are busy providing that unpaid labor.
In Mexico, the Push for a National Care System Is Gaining Momentum

Mar 24, 2025 | as-coa.org | Carin Zissis

As Mexico faces tariff threats and stagnant growth, "closing the workforce gap represents an economic opportunity," writes AS/COA's Carin Zissis in WPR. At the heart of unpaid care work in Mexico lies a paradox: The labor sustains the economy, even as it creates barriers to women joining the workforce.
Lessons from Costa Rica’s Economic Transformation

Mar 21, 2025 | wilsoncenter.org | Carin Zissis |Bruna L. Santos |Michael Fitzpatrick

Q&A with Minister Manuel Tovar of Costa RicaQ. In recent years, Costa Rica has become the second-largest exporter of medical devices in Latin America. How did Costa Rica end up a hub for advanced manufacturing, including for computer chips? A. Costa Rica’s economic transformation has been remarkable, turning into a sophisticated global hub for advanced manufacturing and services.
Carin Zissis

Mar 7, 2025 | wilsoncenter.org | Carin Zissis

Professional Affiliation Editor-in-Chief, AS/COA Online, Americas Society/Council of the Americas Expert Bio Carin Zissis is Editor-in-Chief of AS/COA Online, the website of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. Based in Mexico City from 2013 to 2021, she regularly publishes analysis and provides commentary on Mexican politics and elections, women’s equity and leadership, U.S.-Mexico ties, and other Latin American issues. She is the host of AS/COA’s Latin America in Focus podcast.
Mexico Is Growing Old. Can It Build a Care System in Time?

Feb 26, 2025 | newsecuritybeat.org | Carin Zissis

Elvia León, the youngest of seven children, wanted to leave Bomintzhá back in 1987. “I told my mother that I didn’t want to live in that kind of poverty, and she supported me.” Her father was less pleased with her plans to abandon their small community in Mexico’s Hidalgo state to study in the city of Querétaro. “The culture here is that women are meant to be at home, doing domestic chores.”This article, by Wilson Center Scholar, Carin Zissis, originally appeared on Americas Quarterly.
Mexico Is Growing Old. Can It Build a Care System in Time?

Feb 12, 2025 | americasquarterly.org | Carin Zissis

Reading Time: 5 minutesElvia León, the youngest of seven children, wanted to leave Bomintzhá back in 1987. “I told my mother that I didn’t want to live in that kind of poverty, and she supported me.” Her father was less pleased with her plans to abandon their small community in Mexico’s Hidalgo state to study in the city of Querétaro.
Recommendations for Bolder Democratic Engagement with Africa

Jan 10, 2025 | wilsoncenter.org | Carin Zissis

Posted date/time:January 10, 2025 The Wilson Center Africa Program and the Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program recently convened current and former government officials, academics, and thought leaders to discuss trends in democratic governance in relation to US-Africa relations.
Claudia Sheinbaum and Why Mexico Elected A Woman President First

Nov 15, 2024 | foreignpolicy.com | Carin Zissis

Elections United States Mexico and the United States both held presidential elections this year, but along the campaign trail, two different conversations were taking place.