A Fireside Chat with Lourdes Melgar

As Mexico approaches its 2024 election, the direction of the country’s energy sector remains uncertain. Successful energy investment could power Mexico to prosperity through nearshoring. In 2022, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) estimated that Mexico’s share of the nearshoring boom could reach US$35.3 billion per year. Yet while Mexico offers high-level manufacturing capabilities, it faces urgent needs, like infrastructure modernization, both to capitalize on nearshoring and meet its own growing demand.  

Similarly, Mexico will need to reckon with international forces. On the global level, the country faces perennial scrutiny for a seeming lack of commitment to meeting emissions targets. Closer to home, Mexico needs to successfully navigate its energy relationship with the United States and American natural gas.  

To understand how the next Mexican president might maneuver her country through these challenges, the Inter-American Dialogue has invited Lourdes Melgar to share insights through a fireside chat. Melgar is a renowned expert of Mexican energy, a research affiliate at MIT’s Center for Collective Intelligence and a non-resident fellow at the Center of Energy Studies of the Baker Institute. In Mexico, Melgar previously served as deputy secretary of energy for hydrocarbons (2014-16) and undersecretary for electricity (2012-2014) during the time of design, negotiation, and initial implementations of Mexico’s energy reform.  

Join the Dialogue for a conversation with Lourdes Melgar on Friday, May 24 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT.  

Follow this event on X (formerly Twitter) at @Dialogue_Energy. 

We invite virtual participants to submit questions using the Q&A function in Zoom. 

OPENING REMARKS

REBECCA BILL CHAVEZ

President and CEO, Inter-American Dialogue (@RebeccaBillChav)

SPEAKER

LOURDES MELGAR

Research Affiliate, Center for Collective Intelligence at MIT; Co-Founder, Voz Experta (@LourdesMelgar)

MODERATOR

DANIELA STEVENS

Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Energy Transition & Climate Program, Inter-American Dialogue (@Stevens_Daniela)