Thursday, July 16, 2026
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. EDT
Location: Online Zoom
Relations between the United States and Mexico have entered uncharted waters, as President Trump abandons many of the informal agreements that had underpinned the countries’ interactions for decades. At this critical juncture, Pamela Starr has written a new book explaining the informal rules of behavior that have developed over time and shape Mexico today, in politics, the economy, security institutions, and foreign relations. Starr’s book, The Making of Mexico: Revolution, Reform and Transformation (2026), sheds light on the forces that influence decision-making in Mexico’s current government system – known as the Fourth Transformation – as it grapples with a U.S. administration determined to redefine the relationship with its neighbor and top trading partner. The Georgetown Americas Institute is pleased to host a conversation with Starr on her new book, moderated by GAI Visiting Fellow Mary Beth Sheridan.
Featuring
Mary Beth Sheridan is a visiting fellow with the Georgetown Americas Institute. Sheridan is a veteran journalist who spent 14 years as a correspondent in Latin America for the Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Times, and most recently, the Washington Post. She has won three Overseas Press Club prizes for her reporting on Mexico as well as the Maria Moors Cabot award, the most prestigious award for coverage of the Americas. At the Washington Post, she also covered immigration, homeland security, and diplomacy and served as deputy foreign editor from 2015 to 2018. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross and has been a resident fellow at Columbia University’s journalism school and Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism.
Pamela K. Starr is a senior advisor to Monarch Global Strategies LLC, a consultant to the U.S. intelligence agencies and diplomats, and a professor of the practice of international relations and public diplomacy at the University of Southern California. Her work has focused on Mexican politics, economics, and foreign policy, U.S.-Mexico relations, and the politics of economic policymaking for over 30 years. Starr was previously a senior Latin America analyst at the Eurasia Group, where she headed up the Mexico practice. She provided political risk analysis and scenario planning for public-sector and private clients, ranging from hedge funds and investment banks to energy companies and manufacturing and consumer product firms. Prior to joining the Eurasia Groups, she was a professor of Latin American political economy at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City from 1997 to 2005. Starr has advised a U.S. secretary of state and Mexican foreign minister, the assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, the Mexican assistant secretary for North American affairs, ambassadors from both countries, and many other government officials from both sides of the border. She has testified before the U.S. Congress and spoken in a wide range of venues, including the International Monetary Fund, World Economic Forum, Inter-American Development Bank, the Mexico Business Summit, the Mexican Banking Association, and the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico.