Camino de Santiago in Mexico: Culture, Economy, and Peace with a Binational Seal

Mexico City, Tuesday, August 19, 2025 (10:00 a.m.). At the Legislators’ Hall of the Chamber of Deputies, Mexican Congress, InterAlcaldes unveiled the “Camino – Santiago Way Initiative in Mexico” Agenda and, in partnership with FHC International and the Council of Hispanic and Ibero-American Communities FHC, hosted the award ceremony for the FHC Medal of Peace and Human Rights. The event brought together lawmakers, mayors, academics, and representatives of the Hispanic community in the United States to strengthen a binational agenda where culture, economy, and human rights converge as a unified policy framework.

A Pathway for Local Economies with Binational Vision

The Camino Agenda seeks to create cultural and civic routes that connect Mexican cities and municipalities under standards of hospitality, heritage preservation, and human security, while engaging the Hispanic diaspora in the U.S.as both a market and a partner. The initiative highlights:

• Productive linkages for SMEs, artisans, and creative industries;

• Destination professionalization, inclusive signage, and safe mobility;

• Sister-city agreements with U.S. municipalities to boost joint promotion, social investment, and philanthropy.

For InterAlcaldes, the Camino is more than tourism—it is a municipal cooperation platform designed to foster local employment, social cohesion, and international visibility for Mexican regions.

Recognizing Builders of Peace

As part of the program, FHC International and the Council of Hispanic and Ibero-American Communities FHC presented the FHC Medal of Peace and Human Rights to outstanding individuals whose work embodies service, solidarity, and leadership:

• Diego Prieto Hernández. Anthropologist and Director General of INAH, recognized for his academic leadership in indigenous peoples’ research, socio-environmental processes, and his contributions to the Camino of Peace project.

• Sami Hayek Domínguez. A businessman of Lebanese origin, honored as a change agent for his enduring love for Mexico, his professional trajectory, and his commitment to family and community values.

• Malki Higuera. Distinguished for his humanitarian work in support of vulnerable Hispanic groups and for organizing donations of firefighting equipment to under-resourced municipalities in Mexico, strengthening local civil protection systems.

• Honorable Daniel Hernández Jr. Recognized for his heroic civic act of saving the life of then-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords during an assassination attempt in the U.S., symbolizing commitment to service and the defense of life.

These recognitions reaffirm that peace is built through tangible actions: safeguarding heritage, protecting communities, encouraging transborder philanthropy, and dignifying public service. 

Economy, Heritage, and Human Rights: A Single Development Equation

Speakers emphasized that the Camino Initiative combines measurable economic objectives—increased tourism revenue, local job creation, and attraction of cultural and creative investment—with human rights principles: citizen participation, accessibility, safety, and territorial equity. This vision requires multi-level governance, involving municipalities, state and federal agencies, universities, business chambers, cultural organizations, and associations of the Hispanic diaspora.

Looking ahead, InterAlcaldes will promote regional technical roundtables to select pilot routes, design responsible tourism products, and establish impact indicators (employment, visitor spending, heritage conservation, and perceived security). A code of best practices is also planned to allow municipalities to adapt the model while maintaining standards of legality and sustainability.

A Shared Agenda between Mexico and the U.S. Hispanic Community

The ceremony in the Chamber of Deputies reaffirmed that Mexico–U.S. cooperation must also advance through culture, education, and local economies. As organizers noted, a culture of peace is also an economic development strategy: it connects people to their history, encourages social investment, and reduces regional disparities when projects are well designed, financed, and measured.

InterAlcaldes will continue working alongside local governments and international allies in implementing the Camino Agenda, convinced that cities thrive when cultural identity translates into economic opportunity, social harmony, and human rights.

Written by: Editorial

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