Mexican Solidarity : Citizen Participation and Volunteering

A rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis of volunteering in Mexico provides a fresh perspective on civil society in Mexico, exploding myths created by previous studies and offering fresh insights into the growing 'third sector' in that country.

During the nearly 20 years of its existence, the Centro Mexicano para la Filantropía, A.C. (Cemefi, acronym in Spanish for the Mexican Center for Philanthropy) has promoted a varied agenda of research about civil society in Mexico. Cemefi has produced and published information on the characteristics of the social organizations that make up the Mexican nonprofit sector, as well as infor- tion about the type of legal, fiscal, and economic factors that promote or hinder organized citizen participation based on the principles of solidarity, social resp- sibility, and philanthropy. Once again, with the aim of bringing together information regarding the imp- tance of practices of solidarity in the country, Cemefi has decided to contribute to understanding, making known, and ultimately promoting volunteer action and acts of solidarity undertaken by citizens in this country. The end result of this effort is portrayed in this book, Mexican Solidarity: Citizen Participation and Volunteerism, edited and coordinated by Doctor Jacqueline Butcher. It is the product of a joint effort on the part of different people and insti- tions with a common goal: finding out about the characteristics of volunteerism and, in general, citizen participation in acts of solidarity in Mexico.