This international seminar was held at the Autonomous University of Mexico from May 29th to May 31st, directed and coordinated by Mr. Guillermo Guajardo from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and the Humanities at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

The purposes of the seminar were:

-         to promote a positive view of Spanish companies as a new point of reference for innovation and business in Latin America, a position occupied up to now by US companies, Latin American state concerns, Japanese firms and, to a lesser extent, German and French companies.

-         to convey the business community's concern to learn about the social and technological repercussions of the activities of Spanish companies in the area; and

-         to establish cooperative links with studies on innovation and the company at the UNAM, currently starting up and which could lead to a programme focusing on energy, society and the environment in Mexico.

The seminar was attended by distinguished Latin American and Spanish experts, including Dr. Gabriel Tortellá Casares, Professor at the University of Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, who spoke on "From monopoly to the free market: the Spanish oil companies Campsa and Repsol". Dr. Javier Vidal Olivares, Professor at the University of Alicante, read a paper on "Origins and international growth of the Sol-Meliá and Iberia groups".