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As part of the study of "new diplomacies", this paper examines the paradiplomacy of cities. It argues that city paradiplomacy distinguishes itself by avoiding being a mere imitation of state diplomacy. Taking a qualitative approach, the case of Mexico City is analysed based on the following research question: to what extent does Mexico City's paradiplomacy incorporate civic binationality into its actions? The argument made is that, in contemporary North America, because of their transnational nature, binational migrants are necessary agents for Mexico City's paradiplomacy. The empirical basis of the analysis is migrant policy and activism in Mexico City and Chicago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary scientific objective of MexiDrill, the Basin of Mexico Drilling Program, is development of a continuous, high-resolution ∼400 kyr lacustrine record of tropical North American environmental change. The field location, in the densely populated, water-stressed Mexico City region gives this record particular societal relevance. A detailed paleoclimate reconstruction from central Mexico will enhance our understanding of long-term natural climate variability in the North American tropics and its relationship with changes at higher latitudes. The site lies at the northern margin of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), where modern precipitation amounts are influenced by sea surface temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic basins. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), more winter precipitation at the site is hypothesized to have been a consequence of a southward displacement of the mid-latitude westerlies. It thus represents a key spatial node for understanding large-scale hydrological variability of tropical and subtropical North America and is at an altitude (2240 m a.s.l.), typical of much of western North America. In addition, its sediments contain a rich record of pre-Holocene volcanic history; knowledge of the magnitude and frequency relationships of the area's explosive volcanic eruptions will improve capacity for risk assessment of future activity. Explosive eruption deposits will also be used to provide the backbone of a robust chronology necessary for full exploitation of the paleoclimate record. Here we report initial results from, and outreach activities of, the 2016 coring campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]