Actualidad de los hermanamientos mexicanos

The objective of this article is to illustrate the dynamics of twin cities as fundamental building blocks of development and local management that optimize the use of resources. Twinning agreements are about a new way of taking action on local territory, but in a globalized context. According to Luna and Ballesteros, the United Nations General Assembly defines such agreements as global inter-municipal cooperation mechanisms that naturally complement cooperation with States and intergovernmental organizations. As such, twinning agreements are essential to development and local administration, where municipalities are at the nucleus. In their study on the regions of the world with which Mexico tends to establish twinning agreements, the authors identify the most dynamic federal entities in this context. They then go on to analyze the factors that give rise to such agreements. Finally, they discuss the participation of the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry in federal diplomacy and underline the need to draw up a joint agenda that encourages the active participation of state and municipal governments, with a view to strengthening the federal system and fully exploiting the opportunities afforded by municipal globalization.