El 7 de mayo, el Transatlantic Dialogue Center (TDC) coorganizó, junto con la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), una charla académica pública titulada «Relaciones Ucrania-América Latina en las relaciones internacionales contemporáneas: potencial político, económico y diplomático».
La conferencia fue impartida por Oleksandr Slyvchuk, coordinador del Programa de Cooperación con España y América Latina en el TDC, con comentarios de José Joel Peña Llanes, profesor de tiempo completo de la Facultad de Estudios Superiores Acatlán de la UNAM. El debate reunió a estudiantes de Relaciones Internacionales (principalmente de la UNAM, así como de otras universidades), académicos y colegas de centros de pensamiento para un intercambio sobre la cooperación entre Ucrania y América Latina y sus perspectivas.
Entre los puntos clave abordados durante la charla figuraron:
- las fortalezas y limitaciones de la cooperación entre Ucrania y América Latina: valores democráticos compartidos y una visión similar del orden internacional, pero una atención históricamente limitada, una presencia diplomática modesta y bajos volúmenes comerciales;
- how mutual interest in Ukraine and Latin America has increased sharply since 2022 as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion;
- the changing information environment: while pro-Kremlin disinformation was more visible early in 2022, the space for propaganda has narrowed over time, sympathy toward Ukraine has grown, and narratives such as “Nazis in Ukraine” have become increasingly marginal;
- a persistent challenge in the region: perceptions of the U.S. and NATO as antagonists — and the need to clearly explain that Russia is not “defending itself from NATO” by attacking Ukraine, and that the claim that NATO expansion “provoked” the war is a myth;
- the importance of dispelling another entrenched misconception: Russia is not a defender of “left” ideas or vulnerable groups — this narrative is rooted in Soviet-era framing, while today Russia advances far-right, revisionist positions and systematically violates international law;
- an encouraging takeaway: Mexico’s academic community largely interprets the Russo-Ukrainian war accurately, including as a violation of international law — even as Mexico’s long-standing neutrality continues to shape cautious engagement with some international initiatives related to the war;
- the significant untapped potential for Ukraine–Mexico cooperation, especially at the academic and media levels: UNAM’s strong interest in partnering with Ukrainian counterparts highlights concrete next steps, including exchanges, joint lectures, panels, debates, and deeper collaboration that helps address the previous gap in sustained engagement.
We thank UNAM and all participants for an engaged and substantive discussion. As a co-organiser of this exchange, TDC looks forward to developing further cooperation between Ukrainian and Mexican academic and expert communities.