Rodrigo Aguilar Benignos

Rodrigo Aguilar Benignos is an independent public policy consultant. He has held positions in the Mexican Government as Director of Strategic planning at the Ministry of Energy and CEO of a Washington, DC based international consulting firm on public affairs. He has a Master degree in Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences.

Articles by Rodrigo Aguilar
| Politics | Mayors | Environment | Security |


POLITICS
Former Mexico City mayor
fights again for presidency
7 March 2012: The candidates in this year’s Mexican presidential elections are asked to find solutions to a plethora of challenges facing the country. Among the most pressing are a huge young electorate clamouring for opportunities and a society that feels threatened after more than 40,000 killings which took place during the so-called War on Drugs over the past six years. More

Mexico’s mayors need courage
to face dubious de-facto powers
14 April 2010: This year Mexico celebrates with passion 200 years of independence as well as the centenary of its Revolution - but the country still remains a land of powerful privileged forces who pursue their own interests. They include drug cartels, religious groups and companies. City Mayors’ special Latin American Correspondent examines their influence in three Mexican cities. More

Mexican mayors offered little
support when assuming office
3 January 2010: Sometimes in developing countries, like Mexico, the biggest challenges for mayors are not those they may face once in office but those just before taking it. Imagine an mayor-elect about to inherit a city with more than 300,000 people, an annual population growth rate of 14 per cent, severe infrastructure problems, a high poverty index and a history of previous inept administrations. Finally imagine inheriting these responsibilities six days before the end of the year. Where does this mayor start? More

MAYORS
Marcelo Ebrard, the battle-hardened
and reforming mayor of Mexico City
10 June 2010: A mayor with a thousand battles behind him, Marcelo Ebrard, the leftist Mayor of Mexico City, has proved that he is a liberal reformer and pragmatist, who is not afraid to challenge Mexico’s orthodoxy. He has championed women’s and minorities rights and has become an outspoken and internationally respected advocate on environmental issues. Mayor Ebrard has been awarded the 2010 World Mayor Prize. More

ENVIRONMENT
Mexico City presents comprehensive
plan to tackle environmental issues
1 May 2010: Confronting climate change is a top priority for the government of Mexico City. With the city’s Green Plan (Plan Verde), Mayor Marcelo Ebrard and his team have introduced a number of measures to cut the emission of greenhouse gases, reduce traffic congestion and preserve water resources. Such measures often require considerable sacrifices before they produce benefits. In an interview with City Mayor’s Latin American Correspondent, Mexico City’s Minister of the Environment, Martha Delgado, described the extent of the challenge, outlined details of the Green Plan and explained how the city government communicates with residents. More

SECURITY
Good policing is about social integration
and not about ‘zero tolerance’ measures
25 July 2010: In an interview with City Mayors, Latin American security expert and judicial Argentinean reformer, Carlos Arslanian, who is known for his progressive ideas for overcoming security threats in Latin American cities, described ‘zero tolerance’ and ‘tough on crime’ measures as total failures. “They’ve created a symbolic criminal law system, a criminal law system that fools citizens or utilizes the collective idea that with strong penalties we solve the problems,” he said. More



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