Fellows

Silvia Nunez Garcia speaks of shifting social attitudes with the increased contact of the Hispanic community and the United States

An important issue in the potentially changing global balance is the internal demographic shift in the United States, particularly in regards to the Hispanic population. Silvia Nunez Garcia, researcher and professor from Mexico, discussed inevitable social changes at the latest program of the Salzburg Global Seminar American Studies Association (SSASA), The Search for a New Global Balance: America's Changing Role in the World.

Nunez is the director of the Center for Research on North America at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (CISAN-UNAM). Her work focuses on social inequality and structure in North America. According to Nunez, the transformation of the US's position in the world is strongly related to the transformation of its society. “There is a very deep transformation within the US society and we need to understand this because the United States through this social transformation that is taking place domestically, it is going to have a new way of performing globally,” she explained in an interview with Salzburg Global.

Among other issues, Nunez discussed the impact of contact between the Hispanic community, the wider United States society, and the “home countries” of Latino Americans. “Because they have experienced the core values of American society, the Hispanic or the Latino community is also a very pragmatic group of people. I think one of the positive trends with regards to the growing number of the Latino community in the United States is that they have been strengthening their relations with their home countries.” Nunez explained.

Nunez also discussed the high levels of uncertainty at a more global level, with many countries - not only the US - addressing the changing balances of power. “The world has become more complex; all the countries now face a sort of interdependence because of globalization. So in this way, I see the United States transforming itself as the rest of the world in need to transform all over.” Despite their differences, especially as the rhetoric around illegal immigration is growing in the US, Nunez urged both the US and Mexico to recognize that they face the same problem “on both sides of the border” with regards to the environment and climate change, and to seek solutions together. 

Having previously attended the Salzburg Global session Eclipse of the Nation State in 1997, Nunez highlighted the need for continued communication on a large scale in such fora as Salzburg Global Seminar: “[Salzburg Global] has not only been able to survive and overcome the economic crisis, but also to strengthen the level of the dialogue.”

Listen to her discuss the transformation of North American societies and more in the interview below.

Silvia Nunez Garcia was a participant at the Salzburg Global Program The Search for a New Global Balance: America's Changing Role in the World, which is part of the multi-year series Salzburg Global Seminar American Studies Association (SSASA). The series/session was hosted in partnership with the Roosevelt Study Centre. More information on the session can be found here: ssasa.SalzburgGlobal.org.