Our dear and admired friend José Manuel Suárez Mier is no longer with us physically, but will always be in our memory. He was a regular and highly valued contributor to this young venture. His untimely passing is an invaluable loss for his many friends, we, among them at the Sepgra family. We extend our most heartfelt condolences to his wife, Adriana Small, and daughters.
Manuel was a generous man, a good friend, an outstanding economist, an acute critic, an admired scholar, and a gifted communicator. His generosity included sharing his thoughts, rigorous economic and political analysis, and vast knowledge of economic and political history, and he always did it gracefully.
Manuel knew the value of true friendship that he cultivated during his years in the academy, first as a student and later as a distinguished professor of economics and Economist in Residence for the School of International Service of American University, at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and the business schools of Georgetown and New Mexico universities. His students were inspired by his wit and wisdom and his relentless pursuit of rigor and common sense.
Also, in his professional practice as Chief of Staff for the Governor of Banco de Mexico, and Principal Advisor to its first Board of Governors; Chief Economist for Latin America at Bank of America; Director, Center for North American Studies, School of International Service, American University; Minister for Economic Affairs at the Mexican Embassy in the US during the NAFTA negotiation; and as a member of the Council for North American Economic Relations, Mexican Embassy in Washington; The Alamos Alliance; Global Economy Thematic Area Coordinator, Undergraduate Program, School of International Service, American University; and of the economic advisory firm Laffer Associates in La Jolla, California.
Manuel was a prolific writer, and his texts were disseminated in different publications, from the Asia Times in Hong Kong to El Economista, Mexico News Daily and Excelsior, in Mexico, and in the World Wide Web in asuntoscapitales.com, elcato.org, elojodigital.com, dineroenimagen.com, iheart.com/podcast, c-span.org and, of course, Sepgra.com. He studied Economics at UNAM and a master’s and Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.