Miguel Basáñez Ebergenyi

Miguel Basáñez Ebergenyi combined government service with research on public opinion and political culture. He served as attorney general of the State of Mexico, directed presidential opinion polling, and held senior staff posts in state government and the energy ministry. After earning a doctorate in political sociology at the London School of Economics, he developed an academic career that included teaching at Tufts University's Fletcher School and directing its Judicial Reform Program. ^{1, 2}

His scholarship used survey evidence to examine the relationship between values and development. In A World of Three Cultures, presented during his ambassadorship at UCLA in February 2016, he grouped cultural patterns around honor, achievement, and joy. His earlier books examined political power and successive Mexican presidencies. ¹

Appointed ambassador in 2015, Basáñez sought to change American perceptions of Mexico by explaining the two countries' family and economic ties. His tenure was brief. In April 2016, the Mexican government announced Carlos Sada as his replacement while shifting its diplomatic strategy toward responding to anti-Mexican rhetoric in the American election campaign. ^{2, 3}