The article identifies the factors that shape Mexico's position in the OAS and explains its historical evolution from 1948 to 2012. It argues that the Mexican state's general approach to the hemispheric organization in different historical periods has depended on: a) the more general strategy envisioned to manage the relationship with the United States; and b) the greater or lesser agreement of Mexico with the security architecture prevailing at different points in time in the organization. The article shows that, along the 65 years since its inception, Mexico has transited from conceiving the OAS as an arena to contain the United States to perceive it as a space conducive to the improvement of intergovernmental coordination in the solution of shared problems.
Mexico; OAS; Hemispheric Security; Mexican Foreign Policy