TBI Grants Awarded 2007-08
| Applicant Funded | School, Dept., or Major | Project Title | Type of Project | Amount Awarded |
| Evelyn Diaz Cruz | Theatre Arts | MUERTOS: A Day of the Dead Theatre Arts Project | Faculty Research | $10,740 |
| Emily Edmonds-Poli | Political Science | Debt Financing and Municipal Autonomy in Tijuana | Faculty Research | $7,600 |
| Jorge A. Vargas | School of Law | International Civil Litigation Between the U.S. and Mexico | Faculty Research | $5,200 |
Evelyn Diaz Cruz
diazcruz@sandiego.edu
University of San Diego, Department of Theatre Arts
MUERTOS: A Day of the Dead Theatre Arts Project
Faculty Research
$10,740
Description of Project:
A theatrical production within the context of Dia de los Muertos will give both San Diego and Tijuana an opportunity to collectively mourn issues of death that affect both sides of the border. This communal mourning event will naturally inspire dialogue on political and socio-economic issues facing both communities. The production will bring together artists from both sides of the border to work collaboratvely in a hightly visibel art form.
Invitation to construct an altar
Emily Edmonds-Poli
edmonds@sandiego.edu
University of San Diego, Department of Political Science
Debt Financing and Municipal Autonomy in Tijuana
Faculty Research
$7,600
*Grant Proposal [ PDF (690.60 KB) ]
Description of Project:
On paper, Mexican municipalities have a considerable amount of independence to decide their own affairs. However, in practice, municipalities rely heavily upon the federal government for the bulk of their economic resources. Even in relatively wealthy cities like Tijuana approximately sixty-five percent of the budget comes from federal transfers. Moreover, the vast majority of federal transfers are earmarked for specific purposes and remaining funds often must be used to cover a municipality's basic operating expenses. Consequently, municipal autonomy is severely limited in Mexico: without full authority over the budget, local governments lack the ability to make and address their own priorities. This has profound implications for the quality of local governance and democracy in Mexico.
The purpose of this project is to examine how and for what purpose the government of Tijuana borrowed abroad. It will also focus on the economic and political implications of this revenue generation strategy. This project will combine semi-structured interviews and archival research in an effort to understand the dynamics and implications of Tijuana's experience with debt financing.
Jorge A. Vargas
mexlaw@sandiego.edu
University of San Diego, School of Law
International Civil Litigation Between the U.S. and Mexico
Faculty Research
$5,200
Description of Project:
The objective of this binational project is to collect official data from judicial sources in the U.S. and Mexico to determine the number and type of American judgments that have been enforced in the six Mexican states that border the United States (i.e., Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas), and the number and type of Mexican judgments enforced in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, in the period 2000-2007. The judicial data collected from the ten border states in the United States and Mexico is expected to provide: a.) an accurate indicator of the volume of the judicial traffic along the U.S.-Mexico border; b.) the degree of cooperation between border judges; and, c.) the number and specific legal nature of the cases which are bieing resolved and enforced along the 1,952 miles of border between both countries.
