Ismael Moreno Pino

{{short description|Mexican lawyer and diplomat}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = His Excellency

| name = Ismael Moreno Pino

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|list=BVO OMCh OSC OSP}}

| image = IMP_(1).jpg

| order =

| title = Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs
(Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights)

| term_start = 1964

| term_end = 1965

| president = Adolfo López Mateos
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz

| title2 = Ambassador of Mexico

| term_start2 = 1964

| term_end2 = 1992

| president2 = Adolfo López Mateos
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz
Luis Echeverría
José López Portillo
Miguel de la Madrid
Carlos Salinas de Gortari

| birth_date = {{birth date|1927|2|15|df=y}}

| birth_place = Mérida, Yucatán,
Mexico

| death_date = {{death date and age|2013|8|15|1927|2|15|df=y}}

| death_place = Mexico City

| party = Independent

| education = American School Foundation

| alma_mater = Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Georgetown University

| profession = Lawyer, Statesman, Diplomat, Author

| spouse = Guadalupe Mercedes González de Hermosillo y Quirós

| children = 3

| parents = Aida Pino Cámara
(mother)
Ramón Moreno
(father)

| relatives = Pino Cámara Family
María Cámara Vales
(grandmother)
José María Pino Suárez
(grandfather)
Alejandro Lecanda Moreno
(grandson)

| awards = List of honours and decorations

}}

Ismael Moreno Pino (15 February 1927 – 15 August 2013) was a lawyer, diplomat, scholar and author who is recognized for his role in the negotiations of the Tlatelolco Treaty, which established Latin America as the first inhabited region of the planet free of nuclear weapons.{{Cite book |last=Robles |first=Alfonso García |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=be6OAAAAMAAJ&q=Ismael+MORENO+PINO,+Ambassador,+Alternate+Representative, |title=The Denuclearization of Latin America |date=1967 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |language=en}} He worked closely with Alfonso García Robles, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts, and his work was praised by U Thant, then UN Secretary-General. Ambassador of Mexico between 1964 and 1992, he represented his country in Germany, Chile, Netherlands, Peru, Venezuela, and at international organizations, including the OAS in Washington, D.C., and the UN in New York and Geneva, Switzerland. He also served on the administrative council of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. He was the grandson of José María Pino Suárez, Vice President of Mexico and a key figure of the Mexican Revolution.{{Cite book |last=Cruz |first=Sergio Contreras |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iYxVAAAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+jos%C3%A9+mar%C3%ADa+pino+suarez |title=Discursos sobre la Revolución Mexicana: testimonios del 20 de noviembre |date=1987 |publisher=Partido Revolucionario Institucional, Comité Ejecutivo Nacional, Secretaría de Capacitación Política |isbn=978-968-483-010-3 |language=es}}{{Cite book |last=Moreno Pino |first=Ismael |title=La diplomacia: aspectos teóricos y prácticos de su ejercicio profesional. |publisher=Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores |year=1995 |isbn=9681652347 |edition=1st |pages=16}}

Educated at the American School Foundation, he graduated in Law from the UNAM and in International Relations from Georgetown. He entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1952, collaborating closely with intellectuals such as Octavio Paz and Jorge Castañeda. During the early 1960s, he served as Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs and Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, helping define Mexico's stance on key Cold War events, such as the Cuban Revolution and the Missile Crisis, and defending Cuba's non-expulsion from the OAS at the Punta del Este Conference. During his tenure as Ambassador to Chile, he witnessed the 1970 presidential election and the challenges faced by Salvador Allende's government. During his time as Ambassador to Germany, he negotiated Mexico's historic decision to recognize East Germany (the GDR) in January 1973, making it among the first Latin American countries to do so.{{Cite journal |last=Witker |first=Ivan |date=2020 |title=Alemania oriental y América Latina durante la Guerra Fría: trazos geopolíticos y resiliencia cultural |url=http://www.scielo.edu.uy/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2301-16292020000100093 |journal=Humanidades (Montevideo. En línea) |language=es |issue=7 |pages=93–112 |doi=10.25185/7.4 |issn=2301-1629|doi-access=free }} This strategic move aligned with Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik and strengthened Mexico's autonomous stance as a Non-Aligned country during the Cold War.

In 1982, President López Portillo granted him the title of embajador eminente (Eminent Ambassador), a distinction reserved by law for only ten career ambassadors for their outstanding service to the Republic. Upon his retirement in 1992, he was the dean of the Mexican Foreign Service. Among his various publications, his book Diplomacy: Theoretical and Practical Aspects stands out, serving as a reference for generations of diplomats in Latin America.

Family origins

File:Jose Maria Pino Suarez (2).jpg, Vice-President of Mexico from 1911 until his assassination in 1913, during the Mexican Revolution.]]

He was born in Mérida, Yucatán on 15 February 1927, the only son of Aída Pino Cámara and Ramón Moreno. His maternal grandparents were José María Pino Suárez, Vice President of Mexico from 1911 until his assassination in 1913, and María Cámara Vales, recipient of the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor, one of the highest civil honors that a Mexican citizen can receive.{{Cite book |last=Yucatán |first=Universidad de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=prwwAAAAYAAJ&q=belisario+dom%C3%ADnguez+mar%C3%ADa+c%C3%A1mara+vales |title=Revista de la Universidad de Yucatán |date=1974 |publisher=Depto. de Publicidad de la Universidad de Yucatán |language=es}}

He descends from the de la Cámara lineage, a distinguished landowning family which settled in the Yucatán peninsula in the 16th century. Their ancestry can be traced back to the early 13th century and they gained recognition in Spain, Portugal, and Yucatán where family members have held positions as knights, explorers, conquerors, aristocrats, landowners, and industrialists. His great-grandfather was Raymundo Cámara Luján, a prominent businessman, while his great-granduncle was Agustín Vales Castillo, an industrialist who served as Mayor of Mérida between 1902 and 1908. Alfredo and Nicolás Cámara Vales who served as Governor of Quintana Roo and Yucatán, respectively, were his great-uncles. He was also related to Eusebio Escalante,{{Cite book |last=Yucatán |first=Universidad de |url= |title=Revista de la Universidad de Yucatán |date=1969 |publisher=Departmento de Difusión y Relaciones de la Universidad de Yucatan. |language=es}} the industrialist responsible for developing the henequen industry in Yucatán, José María Ponce,{{Cite book |last=Acosta |first=José María Valdés |url= |title=A través de las centurias |date=1979 |language=es}} the founder of the Cervecería Yucatán brewery, Carlos Peón, governor of Yucatán,{{Cite book |last=Sergio |first=Quezada |url= |title=Yucatán. Historia breve |date=2016-08-02 |publisher=Fondo de Cultura Economica |isbn=978-607-16-4065-9 |language=es}} and Alfredo Pino Cámara, the Supreme Court Justice.{{Cite web |last=Toraya |first=Betina González |title=María Casimira Cámara Vales, la estoica esposa de un vicepresidente de México |url=https://www.lajornadamaya.mx/opinion/184171/maria-casimira-camara-vales-la-estoica-esposa-un-vicepresidente-de-mexico |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=www.lajornadamaya.mx |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Poniatowska |first=Elena |url= |title=Tinísima: novela |date=1992 |publisher=Ediciones Era |isbn=978-968-411-305-3 |language=es}}

In the arts, Hortensia Cámara Vales and Pablo Castellanos León, his great-uncles, were a couple of concert pianists; Castellanos León, a virtuoso, was educated in the conservatoire de Paris under Antoine François Marmontel.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FL5oAAAAMAAJ&q=Silhouettes+et+Medaillons,+Virtuoses+Contemporaines+pablo+castellanos |title=Yucatán en el tiempo: C-E |date=1998 |publisher=Inversiones Cares |isbn=978-970-9071-02-3 |language=es}}{{Cite book |last=Trujillo |first=Carlos A. Echánove |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qIEWAAAAYAAJ&q=arte+de+tocar+el+piano+seg%C3%BAn+las+leyes+naturales |title=Enciclopedia yucatanense: conmemorativa del IV centenario de Mérida y Valladolid (Yucatán) |date=1944 |publisher=Edición Oficial del Gobierno de Yucatán |language=es}} His son, Pablo Castellanos Cámara, also became a virtuoso pianist, having studied at the Paris and Berlin Conservatories under Alfred Cortot and Edwin Fischer.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-YcMAAAAYAAJ&q=pablo+castellanos+c%C3%A1mara |title=Who's Notable in Mexico |date=1972 |publisher=Who's Who in Mexico. |language=en}} Meanwhile, Fernando Cámara Barbachano, another cousin, was a distinguished anthropologist and museum director.

As the grandson of Pino Suárez, he is also a direct line descendant of Pedro Sáinz de Baranda,{{Cite book |last=Camp |first=Roderic Ai |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cp50BQAAQBAJ&dq=jos%C3%A9+mar%C3%ADa+pino+su%C3%A1rez+pedro+sainz+de+baranda&pg=RA4-PA1926 |title=Mexican Political Biographies, 1884–1934 |date=2014-11-06 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-75603-8 |language=en}} a founding father who, after fighting the Battle of Trafalgar as a Spanish naval officer, founded the Mexican Navy during the Mexican War of Independence; later in his career, he served as Governor of Yucatán and is widely regarded for having introduced the Industrial Revolution to the country.{{Cite book |last=Bortz |first=Jeffrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ejNjRMpTUt4C&dq=pedro+sainz+de+baranda+industrial+revolution&pg=PA23 |title=Revolution within the Revolution: Cotton Textile Workers and the Mexican Labor Regime, 1910-1923 |date=2008-04-16 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-7964-7 |language=en}} Other prominent members of the Sáinz de Baranda family include the brothers {{ill|Pedro Baranda|lt=Pedro Baranda|es}} and Joaquín Baranda,{{Cite book |last1=Wells |first1=Allen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zRp1twTYSYAC&dq=pedro+sainz+de+baranda+joaqu%C3%ADn+baranda&pg=PA321 |title=Summer of Discontent, Seasons of Upheaval: Elite Politics and Rural Insurgency in Yucatán, 1876-1915 |last2=Joseph |first2=Gilbert Michael |date=1996 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-2656-6 |language=en}} as well as {{ill|Pedro Sainz de Baranda (politician)|es|Pedro Sainz de Baranda (político)|lt=Pedro Sainz de Baranda}} who served as mayor of Madrid during the Napoleonic invasion of Iberia.{{Cite journal |last=Cruz |first=Jesús |date=1990 |title=Revolucionarios con clase: Vida de la familia Sainz de Baranda 1750-1850 |url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=147955 |journal=Espacio, tiempo y forma. Serie V, Historia contemporánea |issue=3 |pages=25–50 |issn=1130-0124}}

Education

File:Georgetown Riverview.jpg in Washington, D.C., later, Moreno Pino was a lecturer of international law.|277x277px]]

Educated at the American School,{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNu6AAAAIAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+colegio+americano |title=Revista mexicana de política exterior |date=2000 |publisher=IMRED |language=es}} he received his Law degree from the National University of Mexico in 1950,{{Cite book |last=Musacchio |first=Humberto |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=piAOAQAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+derecho+unam |title=Milenios de México |date=1999 |publisher=Hoja Casa Editorial |isbn=978-968-6565-36-2 |language=es}} writing a thesis on "the role of the consular corps in the national economic recovery plan", a copy of which can still be obtained in the U.S. Library of Congress.[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23846254 WorldCat]

He continued his studies at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., obtaining bachelor's and master's degrees in Foreign Service. His roommate at Georgetown was Frank V. Ortiz, who would later serve as U.S. Ambassador to Argentina and Peru.

Diplomatic career

=Early career: the Foreign Ministry and Mexico's response to the Cold War=

A protégé of Manuel Tello, then the Foreign Secretary, Moreno Pino joined the Foreign Office in 1952 and the Diplomatic Service in 1955, after passing the necessary examinations.{{cite web |url=http://www.sre.gob.mx/revistadigital/images/stories/numeros/n59/mdmmoreno.pdf|title=Ismael Moreno Pino, embajador eminente|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615052610/http://www.sre.gob.mx/revistadigital/images/stories/numeros/n59/mdmmoreno.pdf|archive-date=15 June 2013}} Originally, he was hired as a legal advisor to the Mexican delegation to the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C.{{Cite journal |last=Cosío Duran |first=Manuel |date=15 November 1999 |title=Entrevista a Ismael Moreno Pino |url=https://revistadigital.sre.gob.mx/index.php/rmpe/article/view/1051/998 |journal=Memorias de la Diplomacia Mexicana |issue=59 |pages=247–271}}File:The Pope and Ambassador Moreno Pino (3).jpg John Paul II (right).]]

Returning to Mexico, he worked in the Bureau for International Organization Affairs, collaborating closely with Octavio Paz,{{Cite book |last=Exteriores |first=Mexico Secretaría de Relaciones |url= |title=Memoria de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de ... a ... presentada a la H. Congreso de la Unión |date=1959 |publisher=La Secretaría |language=es}} who would be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990, and with Jorge Castañeda,{{Cite book |last=Exteriores |first=Mexico Secretaría de Relaciones |url= |title=Memoria de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores |date=1960 |publisher=Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores |language=es}} who would serve as Foreign Secretary. In 1960, succeeding the latter, he served as Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs.{{Cite book |url= |title=Hispano americano |date=1963 |publisher=Tiempo SAdeCV |language=es}} Between 1964 and 1965, he served as Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs.{{Cite book |url= |title=Hispano Americano: semanario de la vida y la verdad |date=1965 |publisher=Tiempo SAdeCV |language=es}} In 1964, President Adolfo López Mateos appointed him to the rank of Ambassador of Mexico.

As a non-aligned country in a Cold War context, Mexico was treading a fine line between the Western Bloc, led by the United States, and the Warsaw Pact countries, led by the USSR. This was exacerbated after Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959, providing no easy solutions for Mexican foreign policy: "wholehearted support for the Cuban Revolution would create an unsustainable tension with the United States, the business community and the Catholic Church; meanwhile, wholehearted support for the United States would provoke an unsustainable tension with the revolutionary government of Cuba, the Mexican intelligentsia and other left-wing sectors which could become radicalized. The Mexican political system entrusted this delicate mission to the Foreign Ministry headed at that time by Manuel Tello, Foreign Secretary, and José Gorostiza, Deputy Foreign Secretary and, next to them, a noteworthy cadre of career diplomats educated in a tradition that [dates back] to the times when the proverb 'a Texan might beat a Mexican in a fight, but he is lost if he tries to argue with him' was minted."{{Cite book |last=Krauze |first=Enrique |title=La Presidencia Imperial: Ascenso y caída del sistema político mexicano (1940 - 1996) |publisher=Tusquets |year=1997 |isbn=968-7723-262 |edition=1st |pages=259 |language=Spanish}}

Moreno Pino actively participated in shaping Mexico's response to the Cuban Revolution and its aftermath, including the Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962). Indeed, Moreno Pino was one of the key Mexican delegates in the Punta del Este meeting (1962){{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QOAnAQAAMAAJ&q=punta+de+este+1962+ismael+moreno+pino |title=Documentos para la historia de un gobierno |publisher=Editorial "La Justicia," |language=es}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uckJAQAAMAAJ&q=punta+de+este+1962+ismael+moreno+pino |title=Istor: revista de historia internacional |date=2008 |publisher=División de Historia del Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas |language=es}}{{Cite book|last=Torres |first=Blanca |title=EL GOBIERNO DE LÓPEZ MATEOS: INTENTO DE DIVERSIFICAR LOS VÍNCULOS CON EL EXTERIOR |chapter=El Gobierno de López Mateos |date=2010 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv3f8pr3.8 |work=De la guerra al mundo bipolar |volume=7 |pages=123–168 |edition=1 |publisher=El Colegio de Mexico |doi=10.2307/j.ctv3f8pr3.8 |jstor=j.ctv3f8pr3.8 |isbn=978-607-462-106-8 |access-date=2022-07-23}} held after the Cuban Revolution, during which it was decided, contrary to the express wishes of the United States, not to expel Cuba from the Organization of American States (OAS). During the meeting, Secretary Tello declared that Cuba's communist ideology was incompatible with OAS membership (pleasing the US); nevertheless, Mexico argued that the OAS Charter had no provision for the expulsion of a member state (pleasing Cuba).{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1T1qAAAAMAAJ&q=manuel+tello+cuba+marxist+leninist+ideology+incompatible+with+OAS+membership |title=Unisa Latin American Report |date=1989 |publisher=UNISA Centre for Latin American Studies |language=en}} Mexico also advocated for non-interventionism, as established in the Estrada Doctrine.{{cite web |url=http://www.istor.cide.edu/archivos/num_33/dossier4.pdf|title=La exclusión de Cuba de la Organización de Estados Americanos: los desacuerdos diplomáticos entre México y Estados Unidos en 1962}}

During these crises, Mexico successfully maintained close relations both with the United States and Cuba. In June 1962, President John F. Kennedy carried out a state visit to Mexico{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Courtney Brianne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3CyAlAEACAAJ&q=John+F+Kennedy+state+visit+to+mexico |title=Vivas for Kennedy: John F. Kennedy's 1962 Presidential Visit to Mexico City |date=2012 |publisher=University of Texas at Dallas |language=en}} and Moreno Pino was invited to act as interpreter. During the visit, Kennedy "recognized that the fundamental goals of the Mexican Revolution were the same as those of the Alliance for Progress: social justice and economic progress in a framework of individual and political liberty." On the other hand, Fidel Castro extended his recognition "to Mexico, to the Mexican government that has maintained the strongest position, we can say that it inspires us with respect, that with the Mexican government we are willing to talk and discuss, and... we are willing to commit ourselves to maintaining a policy subject to norms, inviolable norms of respect for the sovereignty of each country and of not interfering in the internal affairs of any country."{{Cite book |last=Krauze |first=Enrique |title=La Presidencia Imperial |publisher=Tusquets |year=1997 |isbn=9687723262 |edition=1 |pages=262 |language=Spanish}}

Another sensitive issue at the time was the representation of China in the United Nations; this issue was particularly delicate because China had a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. After the Chinese Communist Revolution, the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong had established the People's Republic of China (PRC) while Chiang Kai-shek and his followers took refuge in Taiwan, continuing the regime of the Republic of China. During the first two decades of the Cold War, the latter was known as "Nationalist China", while the former was known as "Communist China" (Two Chinas). Despite Mao's triumph, most Western countries, including Mexico, continued to recognize "Nationalist China". During these years, the question of which of the two had the right to be China's legitimate representative before the UN was one of the biggest headaches for multilateral diplomacy. Between 1949 and 1971, Taiwan continued to represent China in the United Nations to the chagrin of the Soviet bloc.

In December 1961, while serving as Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs, responsible for supervising Mexico's relations with the United Nations, Moreno Pino persuaded Secretary Tello to instruct Ambassador Luis Padilla Nervo, then Mexico's Permanent Representative to the UN, to vote in favor of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1668, which, proposed by the United States, established that any proposal that tried to change the representation of China in the UN required a supermajority of votes in the UN General Assembly.{{Cite book |last=Connelly |first=Marisela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VnO3DQAAQBAJ&dq=ONU+resoluci%C3%B3n+1668&pg=PT90 |title=Historia de Taiwan |date=2014-09-23 |publisher=El Colegio de Mexico AC |isbn=978-607-628-093-5 |language=es}} This resolution delayed the accession of Communist China to the UN for a decade, until, in 1971, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 was passed, recognizing the PRC as "China's sole legitimate representative to the United Nations."{{Cite book |last=Service |first=United States Foreign Broadcast Information |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=meYsAAAAMAAJ&q=recognizing+the+Peoples+Republic+of+China+(PRC)+as+Chinas+sole+legitimate+representative+to+the+United+Nations. |title=Daily Report: People's Republic of China |date=1995 |publisher=National Technical Information Service |language=en}}

=Negotiation of the Treaty of Tlatelolco: denuclearization in Latin America=

After the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, it became obvious to Latin American and Caribbean countries that they had to protect themselves in the case of a nuclear conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.{{Cite book |last=Getchell |first=Michelle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NiRtDwAAQBAJ&dq=cuban+missile+crisis+and+the+treaty+of+tlatelolco&pg=PA118 |title=The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War: A Short History with Documents |date=2018-09-15 |publisher=Hackett Publishing |isbn=978-1-62466-743-5 |language=en}}

President Adolfo López Mateos, "who extended Mexico's diplomatic networks beyond their traditional limits and devoted significant effort to promoting Latin American integration",{{Cite web |date=18 February 2022 |title=El Tratado de Tlatelolco: una mirada desde sus protagonistas |url=https://www.milenio.com/opinion/varios-autores/valija-diplomatica/el-tratado-de-tlatelolco-una-mirada-desde-sus-protagonistas |access-date=2022-06-19 |website=Grupo Milenio |language=es-MX}} promoted denuclearization in the region. Indeed, Mexico had been at the forefront of the efforts to denuclearize Latin America; as early as 22 March 1962, Manuel Tello, then the Foreign Secretary, made a unilateral declaration before the United Nations Conference on Disarmament held in Geneva, Switzerland, establishing that Mexico would be free of nuclear weapons.

By 1963, Mexico sought backing in creating a nuclear-free zone in Latin America from Presidents Victor Paz Estenssoro (Bolivia), Joao Goulart (Brazil), Jorge Alessandri (Chile) and Carlos Julio Arosemena (Ecuador).{{Cite web |title=History – OPANAL |url=https://www.opanal.org/en/history/ |access-date=2022-07-17 |language=en-GB}} Reflecting on Mexico's leadership during the negotiations, Alfonso García Robles noted that: "the prohibition of nuclear weapons in Latin America constitutes, in effect, an undertaking to which Mexico has had the privilege of making a contribution of extraordinary value."{{Cite web |title=Alfonso García Robles |url=https://colnal.mx/integrantes/alfonso-garcia-robles/ |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=El Colegio Nacional |language=es-MX}}

The chief negotiators appointed by Mexico to guide these negotiations included three important diplomats:

File:Ismael Moreno Pino.jpg

{{Blockquote|The minutes of the negotiations reveal the names of diplomats of enormous stature: Alfonso García Robles, a distinguished jurist and promoter of the treaty, who served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982 for his role in negotiating the treaty [...] Jorge Castañeda y Álvarez de la Rosa, an international jurist who later would later serve as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and, finally, Ismael Moreno Pino, a staunch defender of multilateralism in Mexico who served as Ambassador in the European capitals and in the United Nations. That brilliant generation was replicated in the quality of the delegations of other countries present in Tlatelolco.|source=Alejandro Alday González, director general of the Mexican Foreign Ministry's Matías Romero Institute}}

The Preliminary Meeting on the Denuclearization of Latin America (REUPRAL) gathered thirteen nations and created the "Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America", (COPREDAL). The United Nations General Assembly authorized COPREDAL on 27 November 1963 and the negotiations began in November 1964 and were carried out in four sessions until the Treaty was finally signed in February 1967.

Alfonso García Robles, then Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the Permanent Representative to CORPREDAL. Moreno Pino, then the Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs, was originally appointed as the Alternate Representative.{{Cite journal |date=1965 |title=Lista Provisional de Miembros de las Delegaciones |url=https://www.opanal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/COPREDAL_S.3_Rev.5.pdf |journal=OPANAL}} However, as García Robles was appointed as the Chairman of COPREDAL, Moreno Pino had to take his place and represent Mexico's interests throughout the negotiations.{{Cite book |last=Exteriores |first=Mexico Secretaría de Relaciones |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3iAtAQAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+opanal |title=Memoria de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de ... a ... presentada a la H. Congreso de la Unión |date=1968 |publisher=La Secretaría |language=es}} He continued in this role even as he was appointed Ambassador of Mexico to Chile.

During the inauguration in November 1964, Moreno Pino delivered the keynote address to the representatives of the countries gathered in Mexico City. In his speech, he remarked that even though Mexico was undergoing a presidential transition, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, then the President-Elect, was as committed as his predecessor in supporting the cause of denuclearization. He stated his opposition to the nuclear arms race, noting that the believed such a race was "dangerous as it could degenerate into war." Finally, he mentioned that the competition between the Great Powers for supremacy in their nuclear arsenals had "diverted economic resources that should be used to satisfy the most pressing needs of the people."{{Cite web |date=24 November 1964 |title=Acta Resumida de la Tercera Sesión |url=https://www.opanal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/REUPRAL_AR_3_Prov.pdf}}

The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (commonly referred to as the Treaty of Tlatelolco) was signed in the Foreign Ministry in Mexico City on 14 February 1967. It entered into force two years later on 22 April 1969. Cuba was the last country to ratify the Treaty on 23 October 2002. The treaty is now signed and ratified by all 33 nations of Latin America and the Caribbean. It established a nuclear-weapon-free zone throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, thus becoming the first inhabited nuclear-free zone in the world. "Its historical significance is unquestionable. From its intellectual conception to its signature, the most distinguished minds from the American continent participated in its formulation, faithfully representing a generation anguished by the horrors of two world wars and the threat of a third one [...] incessantly seeking peace and harmony among nations."

Moreno Pino, himself, later wrote:

File:Nwfz.svgs}} {{legend0|#FF0000|NW states}} {{legend0|#FF8800|Nuclear sharing}} {{legend0|#dddd00|NPT only}}]]

{{Blockquote|Concluded in the midst of the cold war, its genesis and subsequent development required a long, tenacious and patient series of negotiations that finally culminated in what U Thant, the Secretary General of the United Nations, described as "an event of historical significance in the global effort to prevent proliferation and stop the nuclear arms race in Latin America," since it came to establish "the necessary statute for the creation, for the first time in history, of a nuclear-free zone in an inhabited part of the Earth."|source=Ismael Moreno Pino, writing in Law and Diplomacy in Inter-American Relations in 1999{{Cite book |last=Moreno Pino |first=Ismael |title=Derecho y diplomacia en las Relaciones Interamericanas |publisher=Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) and Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE) |year=1999 |isbn=9681659953 |edition=1 |pages=761 |language=Spanish}}}}

The Tlatelolco Treaty inspired other regions in Asia, Australasia and Africa to become nuclear-weapon-free zones. Similarly, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was signed in 1968 and entered into force in 1970.

After 1969, he served as a delegate to The Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL),{{Cite journal |date=1969 |title=Lista Provisional de los Miembros de las Delegaciones |url=https://www.opanal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/REOPANAL_S_Inf.4_Prov..pdf |journal=OPANAL}} an UN-backed agency headquartered in Mexico City, which is the sole international organization in the world entirely devoted to nuclear disarmament and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.{{Cite web |title=The Secretary-General of OPANAL meets with the Secretary-General of the United Nations – OPANAL |url=https://www.opanal.org/en/the-secretary-general-of-opanal-meets-the-secretary-general-of-the-united-nations/ |access-date=2022-07-17 |language=en-GB |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717021636/https://www.opanal.org/en/the-secretary-general-of-opanal-meets-the-secretary-general-of-the-united-nations/ |url-status=dead }}

In 1966, in recognition of his work during the negotiations, the Government of Brazil awarded him the Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross.{{Cite web |title=Legislatura XLVI - Año II - Período Comisión Permanente - Fecha 19660602 - Número de Diario: 61 |url=http://cronica.diputados.gob.mx/DDebates/46/2do/CPerma/19660602.html |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=cronica.diputados.gob.mx}} Prior to that, President Juscelino Kubitschek, had already awarded him membership of the Order as a Grand Officer.{{Cite web |date=12 February 1962 |title=Diario Oficial de la Federación |url=https://www.dof.gob.mx/index.php?year=1962&month=2&day=12#gsc.tab=0}}

To this day, Mexico remains one of few countries possessing the technical capability to manufacture nuclear weapons,{{Cite web |date=13 April 2010 |title=Nuclear Capabilities And Potential Around The World |url=https://www.npr.org/2010/04/13/125898396/nuclear-capabilities-and-potential-around-the-world |website=npr.org}} having successfully achieved the creation of highly enriched uranium. Following the Treaty of Tlatelolco, however, it has pledged to only use its nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. (See: Mexico and weapons of mass destruction). Argentina and Brazil are the two other regional powers that might also have the technical ability to develop nuclear weapons but have decided to abstain from doing so as they too are signatories to the Tlatelolco Treaty.

=Ambassador to Chile =

By the 1960s, Chile enjoyed a regional reputation as a stable, institutional, and progressive democracy, marked by alternating governments between Christian Democrats and the Radical Party. Between 1964 and 1970, President Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964–70) led an ambitious programme of moderate social reforms, strongly supported by the United States under the framework of the Alliance for Progress. For Mexico, also balancing revolutionary rhetoric with realpolitik and institutional stability, Chile represented a kindred model. File:Despedida del Eduardo Frei Montalva como presidente de Chile.JPG (centre), President of Chile from 1964 to 1970, and his Foreign Minister, Gabriel Valdés Subercaseaux (right). Moreno Pino recognised the structural constraints confronting Frei's administration, particularly the resistance within Congress to his moderate land reform initiatives.]]

On 19 April 1965, President Díaz Ordaz appointed Moreno Pino Ambassador to Chile.{{Cite book |last1=Mexico |first1=Centro de Estudios Nacionales |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dNZuAAAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+georgetown |title=La doctrina internacional de México |last2=Ordaz |first2=Gustavo Díaz |date=1965 |publisher=Ediciones del Centro de Estudios Nacionales |language=es}}{{Cite book |last=Publicidad |first=Mexico Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores Dirección General de Prensa y |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1okAQAAIAAJ&q=gustavo+d%C3%ADaz+ordaz+moreno+pino |title=Mexico de hoy |date=1965 |language=es}} His appointment was ratified by the Mexican Senate, and after receiving agrément from the Chilean government, he arrived in Santiago on 25 May and, three days later, he presented his letters of credence to President Frei at La Moneda Palace.{{Cite book |last1=Nacionales (Mexico) |first1=Centro de Estudios |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P8ZwAAAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+eduardo+frei |title=La política social de la Revolución Mexicana |last2=Ordaz |first2=Gustavo Díaz |date=1965 |publisher=Centro de Estudios Nacionales |language=es}}{{Cite book |last1=Nacionales (Mexico) |first1=Centro de Estudios |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P8ZwAAAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+gabriel+vald%C3%A9s |title=La política social de la Revolución Mexicana |last2=Ordaz |first2=Gustavo Díaz |date=1965 |publisher=Centro de Estudios Nacionales |language=es}} After settling in, he purchased the ambassadorial residence in Santiago, still owned by Mexico in Américo Vespucci Avenue. Moreno Pino later described this assignment as a turning point in his career: it was his first direct experience with bilateral diplomacy. Besides the typical challenges faced by all new ambassadors, he served three terms as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, substituting for successive Apostolic Nuncios: Righi-Lambertini, Martini, and Sanz Villalba.

In memoir excerpts published in 2021, Alexander Anikin, the Soviet Ambassador to Chile, recalled his conversations with Moreno Pino between 1965 and 1967. These discussions offer valuable insights into the political landscape of Chile during a pivotal time. Moreno Pino noted the economic and political struggles under President Frei, particularly the resistance to Frei's land reform proposal from right-wing parties in the Congress. He also observed the internal contradictions within the ruling Christian Democratic Party, where figures like Alberto Jerez pushed for bold reforms, while Frei and most ministers favored moderate, compromise-driven approaches.{{Citation |title=Documentos |date=2021-05-05 |work=Chile en los archivos soviéticos: Tomo 4 : Años 60 |pages=15–330 |editor-last=Ulianova |editor-first=Olga |url=http://books.openedition.org/ariadnaediciones/8333 |access-date=2023-10-04 |series=Historia |place=Santiago |publisher=Ariadna Ediciones |language=es |isbn=979-10-365-6944-9}}File:Salvador Allende en la Residencia Oficial del Embajador de México.JPG (left), President of Chile from 1970 to 1973, at the ambassadorial residence in Santiago. Reflecting on Allende's presidency, Moreno Pino described it as fundamentally democratic, though beset by immense structural challenges. In his view, the contradictions at the heart of the Allende government, both ideological and institutional, ultimately undermined its capacity to govern.]]Moreno Pino also painted a complex picture of Chile's political scene, highlighting divisions within major parties like the Christian Democrats, Radicals, and Socialists. He pointed to a growing leftist faction within the Christian Democrats, which threatened to split the party, and tensions within the Socialist Party, with figures like Salvador Allende representing more flexible factions and Raúl Ampuero leading a hardline group.

As early as June 1967, Moreno Pino predicted the 1970 presidential race would feature Christian Democratic candidate Radomiro Tomic, Socialist Salvador Allende, and Conservative Jorge Alessandri. He anticipated that, if necessary, conservatives would support Tomic to block Allende. He also warned that a victory by Allende could prompt U.S. intervention to protect American interests in Chile.

When the 1970 election came, Moreno Pino witnessed events unfold much as he had foreseen. In a retrospective interview decades later, he reflected that although the vote was close, the process was conducted with civility and in accordance with Chilean democratic norms. Allende won a narrow plurality, triggering a congressional vote between the two top candidates, as required by law. Yet in keeping with tradition, Allende presented himself as President-Elect from the outset, setting the tone for a peaceful transition.{{Cite journal |last1=Pino |first1=Ismael Moreno |last2=Durán |first2=Manuel Cosío |last3=Arriaga |first3=Víctor |date=2000 |title=Ismael Moreno Pino, embajador eminente |url=https://revistadigital.sre.gob.mx/index.php/rmpe/article/view/1051 |journal=Revista Mexicana de Política Exterior |language=es |issue=59 |pages=247–71 |issn=2594-2441}}File:Moreno Pino y el general Pinochet.JPG (right), President of Chile from 1973 to 1990. In his reflections, Moreno Pino observed that before the 1973 coup d’état, the Chilean armed forces had maintained a tradition of professionalism and institutional restraint.]]As Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Moreno Pino was soon encouraged—though not formally pressured—to pay a courtesy call on Allende. Conscious of the delicate political context, he delayed the visit to avoid any appearance of foreign interference. However, once it became clear that the Christian Democrats were leaning toward respecting the traditional outcome, and as ambassadors from Warsaw Pact countries began publicly recognising Allende, he concluded that to preserve the authority of his office, a visit was necessary. It was diplomatically successful: the gesture was appreciated, and no criticism ensued.

He also oversaw the organisation of the customary gala dinner for the incoming president, a tradition fraught with tension given Allende's Marxist–Leninist affiliations. While socialist nations welcomed his victory with enthusiasm, not all diplomatic missions in Santiago shared that view. Nevertheless, through careful negotiation, the event was carried off without incident.File:Embajador Moreno Pino discurso en la Escuela Militar en Santiago de Chile.jpg to the Bernardo O'Higgins Military Academy. The event was presided over by General Carlos Prats, Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army (not pictured).]]The rise of Salvador Allende in 1970, the first Marxist in the world to come to power through democratic elections, placed Chile at the centre of international attention. Nevertheless, reflecting on Allende's presidency, Moreno Pino assessed it as fundamentally democratic in character, albeit fraught with immense structural challenges. He viewed Allende as both a democrat and a revolutionary, but concluded that such duality was inherently unstable. If Allende governed as a democrat, revolution would stall; if as a revolutionary, democracy would collapse. The lack of a clear majority in Congress meant he had to seek shifting alliances—sometimes with the Christian Democrats, sometimes with the right, just to pass legislation. Despite his political acumen, the circumstances were not propitious for transformative change. In Moreno Pino's view, the contradictions at the heart of the Allende government, both ideological and institutional, ultimately undermined its capacity to govern.

In confidential diplomatic cables to Emilio Óscar Rabasa, Mexico's Foreign Secretary (1970 - 75), Moreno Pino raised concerns about the Chilean economy under Allende's stewardship. Moreno Pino pointed out that, in a bid to win popular support, Allende had increased worker wages by up to 55%.{{Cite thesis |last=Valenzuela Carreño |first=Xochtl America |title=América Latina y el Golpe de Estado a Allende: un estudio de las reacciones diplomáticas regionales los casos mexicano y brasileño. |date=2018 |publisher=Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo |url=http://bibliotecavirtual.dgb.umich.mx:8083/jspui/bitstream/DGB_UMICH/2466/1/IIH-M-2018-0247.pdf}} To finance this, the Allende government resorted to printing money, which led to an inflationary spiral. Meanwhile, the Nixon administration, keen to destabilize Allende's regime, persuaded capitalist economies to boycott Chile, causing a situation where workers had money but little to buy, as inventories ran out.{{Cite book |last=Schmitz |first=David F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sjglPjlPnMAC&dq=nixon+economic+destabilization+chile&pg=PA38 |title=Brent Scowcroft: Internationalism and Post-Vietnam War American Foreign Policy |date=2011-03-16 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-0-7425-7042-9 |language=en}} In a 1999 interview, Moreno Pino noted that under Frei, consumers lacked purchasing power despite a relatively well-stocked market; under Allende, it was the reverse: people had money, but the shelves were bare. This, he believed, profoundly damaged the administration's credibility. File:Presidente Echeverria en su visita de estado a Chile (1972).JPG (centre), President of Mexico from 1970 to 1976, who significantly deepened ties with Chile as part of his broader Cold War policy.]]In Moreno Pino's view, the wave of land and factory occupations by Allende's radicalised supporters only deepened the crisis, alienating key sectors of Chilean society, particularly the middle class, many of whom began to call on the military to intervene. He also noted that during his tenure, the Chilean armed forces, headed by Carlos Prats, retained their professionalism and restraint. Later, Rabasa would tell US Ambassador Joseph J. Jova that while Allende was a poor administrator, he was a patriotic figure intent on dismantling Chile's oligarchy.{{Cite news |last=Corona |first=Sonia |date=2013-04-10 |title=Wikileaks revela el lado más turbio de la presidencia de Echeverría en México |url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2013/04/10/actualidad/1365553441_432875.html |access-date=2022-07-23 |work=El País |language=es |issn=1134-6582}}

During the 1960s, Mexico began shifting away from its tradition of self-imposed diplomatic isolation.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GkcwAQAAIAAJ&dq=the+Mexican+Government+had+decided+to+sever+diplomatic+relations+with+the+Chilean+Government.&pg=PA262 |title=Mexico: A Country Study |date=1975 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}} Luis Echeverría, Mexico's President (1970 - 76), significantly deepened ties with Chile, as part of its broader shift toward Third Worldism and solidarity with democratic leftist movements.{{Cite book |last=Tello |first=Carlos |url=https://www.google.com.mx/books/edition/La_pol%C3%ADtica_econ%C3%B3mica_en_M%C3%A9xico_1970/gtp_FqjH37wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=M%C3%A9xico+y+la+pol%C3%ADtica+mundial+en+el+sexenio+de+Echeverr%C3%ADa&pg=PA73&printsec=frontcover |title=La política económica en México, 1970-1976 |date=2003-01-01 |publisher=Siglo XXI |isbn=978-968-23-1674-6 |language=es}} Echeverría, who had deep admiration for Allende,{{Cite book |last=Pozo |first=José del |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VMNtQJOvNLkC&dq=luis+echeverria+salvador+allende&pg=PA109 |title=Exiliados, emigrados y retornados: chilenos en América y Europa, 1973-2004 |date=2006 |publisher=RIL Editores |isbn=978-956-284-498-7 |language=es}} sought to foster closer ties with Chile, believing that such a relationship would reinforce Mexico's political legitimacy after the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre.{{Cite book |last=Yankelevich |first=Pablo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXd4p4MghywC&dq=De+1971+a+1973+Luis+Echeverr%C3%ADa+busc%C3%B3+un+acercamiento+con+el+Chile+socialista+de+Salvador+Allende&pg=PA265 |title=México, país refugio: la experiencia de los exilios en el siglo XX |date=2002 |publisher=Plaza y Valdes |isbn=978-970-722-096-6 |language=es}} This effort culminated in two state visits in 1972: Echeverría visited Santiago in April, followed by Allende's reciprocal visit to Mexico in December. However, after the 1973 coup, Echeverría severed diplomatic ties with the Pinochet regime, a break that lasted until 1990. Echeverría also offered refuge to Chilean exiles, including Allende's widow, Hortensia Bussi.{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Louise E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cihYM-O7ilQC&dq=hortensia+bussi+de+allende+m%C3%A9xico+echeverr%C3%ADa&pg=PA56 |title=Waking from the Dream: Mexico's Middle Classes after 1968 |date=2013-02-20 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-8457-3 |language=en}}

During this period, Mexico's Embassy in Santiago became a key interlocutor, reporting back to the Foreign Ministry and providing diplomatic support as internal tensions in Chile escalated. Both Mexico and Chile played active roles in multilateral institutions such as ECLAC and the United Nations, often coordinating positions within the Global South.{{Cite book |last=Dosman |first=Edgar J. |url=https://www.google.com.mx/books/edition/The_Life_and_Times_of_Ra%C3%BAl_Prebisch_190/7uXJ-ejd_2AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Life+and+Times+of+Ra%C3%BAl+Prebisch,+1901%E2%80%931986.&printsec=frontcover |title=The Life and Times of Raúl Prebisch, 1901-1986 |date=2008-10-24 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP |isbn=978-0-7735-7464-9 |language=en}} Santiago was a major intellectual and publishing hub in South America: there was considerable academic exchange between Mexican and Chilean universities and publishing houses such as the University of Chile and Quimantú maintained ties with Mexico's Fondo de Cultura Económica. The embassy also served a cultural function, engaging with figures such as Pablo Neruda, as well as with the Chilean university scene.

During his time in Chile, Moreno Pino played a key role in strengthening Mexico-Chile relations and was recognized by Allende with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit before his departure to Germany.{{Cite web |date=10 May 1973 |title=Diario Oficial de la Federación |url=https://dof.gob.mx/index.php?year=1973&month=4&day=10&print=true?print=true}}

=Ambassador to Germany =

File:Ambassador Moreno Pino.jpg in August 1972 to present his credentials to Dr. Gustav Heinemann, who served as President of West Germany from 1969 to 1974. His diplomatic efforts in Bonn and East Berlin contributed to Mexico's recognition of East Germany (GDR), in alignment with Ostpolitik and the broader détente of the 1970s.]]

Arriving in Bonn in August 1972 as Mexico's ambassador, Moreno Pino presented his credentials to President Gustav Heinemann at the Hammerschmidt Villa in Bonn, Germany.{{Cite book |last=Informationsamt |first=Germany (West) Presse-und |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRVoAAAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+walter+scheel |title=Bulletin des Presse- und Informationsamtes der Bundesregierung |date=1972 |publisher=Deutscher Bundes-Verlag |language=de}}{{Cite book |last=Informationsamt |first=Germany (West) Presse-und |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRVoAAAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+gustav+heinemann |title=Bulletin des Presse- und Informationsamtes der Bundesregierung |date=1972 |publisher=Deutscher Bundes-Verlag |language=de}} His appointment marked a milestone for regional representation within Mexico's foreign service. Revista de Mérida reported that Moreno Pino was the first Yucateco to hold such a high-profile diplomatic post,{{Cite web |last=Madera |first=Valentina Boeta |date=2022-08-07 |title=La Semana hace 50 años: un yucateco es nombrado embajador en Alemania |url=https://www.yucatan.com.mx/central-9/2022/08/07/la-semana-hace-50-anos-un-yucateco-es-nombrado-embajador-en-alemania-338536.html |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=Diario de Yucatán |language=es}} although his great-uncle, Nicolás Cámara Vales, had previously served as Mexico's Consul-General in Berlin during the Weimar Republic.{{Cite book |last=Potsdam (Regierungsbezirk) |url=https://www.google.com.mx/books/edition/Amtsblatt_der_K%C3%B6niglichen_Regierung_zu/V8ASAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dem+Konsul+von+Mexiko+in+Berlin+,+Nicolas+Camara+Vales&pg=PA336&printsec=frontcover |title=Amtsblatt der Königlichen Regierung zu Potsdam und der Stadt Berlin |date=1925 |language=de}}{{Cite book |last=Exteriores |first=Mexico Secretaría de Relaciones |url=https://www.google.com.mx/books/edition/Memoria_de_labores_de_la_Secretar%C3%ADa_de/WASm8b8YQrEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=nicol%C3%A1s+c%C3%A1mara+vales+deutschland+berlin&dq=nicol%C3%A1s+c%C3%A1mara+vales+deutschland+berlin&printsec=frontcover |title=Memoria de labores de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de ... a ... presentada a la H. Congreso de la Unión |date=1926 |publisher=La Secretaría |language=es}}

In the 1970s, Germany stood as a unique and complex focal point of the Cold War, symbolized by the Berlin Wall and the political division between West Germany (FRG), with its capital in Bonn, capitalist and aligned with the United States, and East Germany (GDR), with its capital in East Berlin, communist and aligned with the USSR. Under Chancellor Willy Brandt, Bonn advanced Ostpolitik (“Eastern Policy”), a strategy of rapprochement with the Eastern Bloc and détente with the Warsaw Pact countries.

Mexican diplomacy regarded European capitals, especially Paris and Bonn, as strategic alternatives to Washington's influence. While maintaining close ties with the West, Mexico projected a non-aligned image, a posture reinforced by its close relationship with Bonn. By the 1970s, West Germany had become one of Mexico's leading European trading partners and a preferred ally for technology transfer, industrial investment, and scientific cooperation. The German automotive and chemical sectors were central to this relationship; since 1967, for example, Volkswagen had operated assembly plants in Puebla and has since maintained a strong industrial presence in Mexico.{{Cite web |title=¿Cuál es la historia de Volkswagen en México? {{!}} VW |url=https://www.vw.com.mx/es/experiencia/cultura/historia-volkswagen-mexico.html |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=www.vw.com.mx |language=es}} A robust network of academic and scientific exchange further supported bilateral ties, driven by the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) and institutions such as the Goethe-Institut.

Under President Luis Echeverría, who emphasized an autonomous and assertive foreign policy, the decision to engage with the GDR became both a matter of national interest and strategic vision. Within this framework, Moreno Pino participated in negotiations with senior West German officials, including Chancellor Willy Brandt and Foreign Minister Walter Scheel, while also engaging with East German leaders such as Erich Honecker. His diplomatic efforts culminated in January 1973, when Mexico formally recognized the GDR, becoming one of the first Latin American countries to do so. The following year, in 1974, Mexico opened its Embassy in East Berlin.

The 1972 Munich Olympics also marked a defining moment in Moreno Pino's ambassadorship. The Games were tragically overshadowed by the hostage crisis involving the Israeli team and the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. The attack triggered a global diplomatic crisis. Still grappling with the political fallout from the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Mexico responded with measured neutrality, reaffirming its commitment to peace and supporting international efforts to defuse the situation.

=Other bilateral and multilateral diplomatic postings=

File:General Assemby, UN (1969).JPG in New York. Throughout his diplomatic career, he represented Mexico at over fifty international conferences, addressing issues ranging from disarmament to reciprocal assistance.]]During his extensive diplomatic service, he was stationed in Europe (Bonn and The Hague), Latin America (Santiago, Lima, Caracas, and Santo Domingo), and at major International Organizations in Washington, D.C., New York, and Geneva.

In 1990, he was recalled to Mexico to act as a Senior Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of Mexico. Over four decades, he served under eight Presidents, from Alemán to Salinas, and nine Foreign Secretaries from Tello to Solana. Reflecting on his tenure, he would later write:

"The eternal gratitude I hold towards those who, besides being wise and respectable bosses during my formative years, knew how to be generous and understanding mentors. During my diplomatic career, I had the chance to work directly and closely with Foreign Secretaries of the stature of Manuel Tello, José Gorostiza, Antonio Carrillo Flores, Alfonso García Robles, and Jorge Castañeda, as well as with ambassadors of the caliber of Rafael de la Colina, Antonio Gómez Robledo, Octavio Paz, and Luis Quintanilla... the great diplomats of contemporary Mexico."
In 1990, at the end of his diplomatic mission in The Hague, he was knighted by Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands, who awarded him the Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau in recognition of his efforts in strengthening Mexico–Netherlands relations.{{Cite web |date=25 May 1990 |title=Diario Oficial de la Federación |url=https://dof.gob.mx/index.php?year=1990&month=05&day=25&print=true?print=true}}

Between 1986 and 1990, he was also a member of the administrative council of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, The Netherlands.{{Cite web |date=2016-08-27 |title=Administrative Council {{!}} PCA-CPA |url=https://pca-cpa.org/en/about/structure/administrative-council/ |access-date=2022-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827193746/https://pca-cpa.org/en/about/structure/administrative-council/ |archive-date=27 August 2016 }}

File:Den Haag Peace Palace 2.jpg in The Hague, The Netherlands.]]

During his career, he developed into one of the most eminent policy experts in the Foreign Office on International Organizations and on the Western Hemisphere. He participated in drafting the amendments carried out to the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR){{Cite book |last=Colina |first=Rafael de la |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJFoAAAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+rafael+de+la+colina |title=El protocolo de reformas al Tratado interamericano de asistencia recíproca: participación de México |date=1977 |publisher=Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores |language=es}} under the Protocol of Buenos Aires (1967), the Protocol of San José (1975) and the Protocol of Cartagena de Indias (1985). The TIAR had established the "hemispheric defense" doctrine which establishes that an attack against one OAS member state should be considered an attack against them all.

As a distinguished multilateralist, he acted as a Special Ambassador to many international organizations over the years. In this capacity, he represented Mexico in the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C.{{Cite book |last=States |first=Organization of American |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9LN6AAAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+rafael+de+la+colina |title=Directory of Delegations |date=1978 |publisher=Pan American Union. |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=States |first=Organization of American |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qtAnAQAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+rafael+de+la+colina |title=Directory |date=1981 |publisher=Pan American Union, General Secretariat, Organization of American States. |language=en}} and in United Nations offices in New York and in Geneva, Switzerland.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVMJhtufV0kC&q=geneva+ismael+moreno+pino |title=Latin America Report |date=1982 |publisher=[Executive Office of the President], Federal Broadcast Information Service, Joint Publications Research Service |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j4cwAAAAYAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+ginebra |title=Proceso |date=1982 |publisher=Comunicación e Información, S.A. de C.V. |language=es}} Throughout his career, he was a delegate in over fifty international conferences on various issues ranging from disarmament to reciprocal assistance; on many occasions, he served as a delegate in the United Nations General Assembly in New York.{{Cite book |last=Nations |first=United |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ObGPAAAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+general+assembly+UN |title=Delegations to the General Assembly |date=1969 |publisher=United Nations. |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Assembly |first=United Nations General |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7XgqAQAAMAAJ&q=ismael+moreno+pino+general+assembly+UN |title=Delegations |date=1967 |language=en}}

He was the Secretary General of the Mexican Delegation to the First United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, held in Geneva, Switzerland, between February and April 1958. The conference was important in establishing the modern legal framework of the law of the sea.{{Cite book |last=Exteriores |first=Mexico Secretaría de Relaciones |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ilvvdwaYjCoC&q=ismael+moreno+pino+derecho+del+mar+ginebra |title=Memoria de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de ... a ... presentada a la H. Congreso de la Unión |date=1959 |publisher=La Secretaría |language=es}}

He also represented Mexico in the Eighteen Nations Disarmament Committee (ENCD) that was held in Geneva between March and August 1962.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JpgUpYD8h9UC&q=ismael+moreno+pino+desarme+en+ginebra |title=Hispano Americano: semanario de la vida y la verdad |date=1962 |publisher=Tiempo SAdeCV |language=es}} Starting in 1969, he was an alternate representative before the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) based in Mexico City.File:ARM Cuauhtémoc (BE01) docks in Lima, Peru.jpg (centre left), President of Peru (1963–1968; 1980–1985), aboard the ARM Cuauhtémoc (BE01), the sail training vessel of the Mexican Navy, during a visit to Callao, Peru. Belaúnde led the first democratic government after twelve years of military dictatorship. For Mexico, this presented an opportunity to relaunch bilateral relations and counterbalance U.S. influence in the region during the Reagan administration.]]Likewise, between 1965 and 1972, he was the permanent representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL), the UN agency responsible for promoting the economic and social development of the region.{{Cite book |last=Exteriores |first=Mexico Secretaría de Relaciones |url= |title=Memoria |date=1968 |publisher=Imprenta del Gobierno |language=es}}

An adjunct professor of international law, he lectured at Georgetown University, the Mexico City College (UDLAP), Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and Instituto Matias Romero.{{Cite book |last=Musacchio |first=Humberto |url= |title=Milenios de México |date=1999 |publisher=Hoja Casa Editorial |isbn=978-968-6565-36-2 |language=es}}

Death and legacy

José Antonio Meade, then the Foreign Secretary, announced his death in August 2013 and offered condolences to Moreno Pino's family. Meade acknowledged Moreno Pino's profound contributions during his forty-year diplomatic tenure, emphasizing that he had played a pivotal role in "strengthening the good name of Mexican diplomacy."{{cite web|url=http://www.lasillarota.com/noticias/item/75211-muere-embajador-eminente-de-m%25C3%25A9xico|title=Muere Embajador Eminente de México |access-date=15 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116110733/http://www.lasillarota.com/noticias/item/75211-muere-embajador-eminente-de-m%C3%A9xico|archive-date=16 January 2014}}

In April 2022, almost a decade after his passing, Senator Germán Martínez Cázares delivered a poignant speech on the Senate floor, honoring Moreno Pino as "one of the great diplomats of Mexico." Moreno Pino's lineage, as the grandson of Vice-President Pino Suárez, and his close collaboration with Alfonso García Robles, a key figure in achieving global nuclear disarmament, were highlighted. Martínez Cázares underscored the immense significance of Moreno Pino's diplomatic endeavors and cautioned against using the Mexican Foreign Service for mere political expediency.{{Cite web |last=República |first=Senado de la |title=Intervención del Senador Germán Martínez Cázares |url=https://www.senado.gob.mx/64/intervenciones/1284/28937 |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=www.senado.gob.mx |language=es}}{{Cite web |date=26 April 2022 |title=Servicio exterior mexicano no puede ser "casa de citas" para pagar favores políticos: Germán Martínez |url=https://www.razon.com.mx/mexico/servicio-exterior-mexicano-casa-citas-pagar-favores-politicos-480232 |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=La Razón |language=es}}{{Citation |title=Sen. Germán Martínez (Grupo Plural) pide no pagar favores políticos | date=26 April 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGPnEu5owuM |access-date=2022-07-06 |language=en}}

Major books

Moreno Pino wrote numerous hemerographic and bibliographic publications. Among the latter, the following stand out:

  • Origins and Evolution of the Inter-American System (In Spanish: Orígenes y evolución del sistema interamericano). Tlatelolco, México: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, 1977. OCLC 4041498
  • Law and Diplomacy in Inter-American Relations (In Spanish: Derecho y diplomacia en las relaciones interamericanas). Mexico, D.F.: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1999. {{ISBN|978-968-16-5995-0}}
  • Diplomacy: Theoretical and Practical Aspects (In Spanish: La diplomacia: aspectos teoricos y prácticos de su ejercicio profesional). México: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, 2001. {{ISBN|978-968-16-5234-0}}

The Matías Romero Institute of Diplomatic Studies, whose main objective is to prepare aspiring candidates who wish to join the Foreign Service, has highlighted the work of Moreno Pino as an author, along with other diplomats.

"Special recognition is warranted for the invaluable contributions made to the Mexican diplomatic bibliographic collection by distinguished compatriots who have wholeheartedly dedicated themselves to a career in the Foreign Service. Among them, we find notable figures such as Isidro Fabela, Rafael de la Colina, Luis Padilla Nervo, Ismael Moreno Pino, Jorge Castañeda, and Alfonso García Robles, to name just a few. Not only have they left behind a written legacy, but their professional achievements have also served as a guiding light for countless generations of career diplomats."{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RNdRAQAAMAAJ&q=Menci%C3%B3n+especial+merecen+las+invaluables+contribuciones+al+acervo+bibliogr%C3%A1fico+diplom%C3%A1tico+mexicano,+de+destacados+compatriotas+que+han+abrazado+la+carrera+del+Servicio+Exterior+como+un+compromiso+vital+como+es+el+caso,+sin+pretender+ser+exhaustivo,+de+Isidro+Fabela,+Rafael+de+la+Colina,+Luis+Padilla+Nervo,+Ismael+Moreno+Pino,+Jorge+Casta%C3%B1eda+y+Alfonso+Garc%C3%ADa+Robles.+Adem%C3%A1s+de+su+testimonio+escrito,+el+propio+desempe%C3%B1o+profesional+de+estos+ilustres+mexicanos+ha+servido+como+ejemplo+a+numerosas+generaciones+de+dipl%C3%B3maticos+de+carrera |title=Revista mexicana de política exterior |date=1986 |publisher=IMRED |language=es}}
José Luis Siqueiros Prieto, Founding Partner of Hogan Lovells BSTL and former Chairman of the Inter-American Judicial Committee of the OAS, commenting on Diplomacy: Theoretical and Practical Aspects wrote that:
"It is somewhat surprising that given the large bibliography available on public international law, the collection of works on Diplomatic Law is rather limited. Leaving aside the already classic texts by Antokoletz, Cahier, Calvo, Nicolson, Pradier-Fodéré, and Vidal y Saura, the most recent of them published more than two decades ago, no new work has been published in that discipline ... work such as the one being discussed, was absent from the national bibliography. It is for this reason, truly satisfying that ... this book – which is not an essay or manual, but a true treatise on the subject – has been published. The author of the work is Ambassador Ismael Moreno Pino, who, in addition to [his] academic credentials, brings to the table a life devoted to Mexican diplomacy ... In this work, written with scientific rigor and the methodology of the academic, Ambassador Moreno Pino analyzes the entire scope and nature of diplomatic relations, not only from a doctrinal perspective but also with the brushstrokes of his own experiences in the interesting world of diplomatic missions abroad qualifying his teachings with interesting case studies such as that of the so-called Ten Tragic Days... In sum, this work is worthy of being read by all scholars of international and diplomatic law both in Mexico and abroad. It is a valuable addition to the limited bibliography of this important discipline."La Diplomacia: Aspectos Teóricos y Prácticos de su Práctica Profesional (1996)
Similarly, commenting on Law and Diplomacy in Inter-American Relations, Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor, the former Vice-President of the International Court of Justice and Mexican Foreign Secretary, stated that:
"Ambassador Moreno Pino [...] has written an important work on politics, law, and diplomacy in Inter-American relations. Although the work deals mainly with issues related to the structure and functioning of the Organization of American States (OAS), the text has even more ambitious content. It presents, with impeccable writing, a historical perspective of the remote origins of the inter-American movement, taking as its source the Spanish School of International Law. It examines, in admirable detail, the evolution of that regional organization, with its successes and frustrations, with its legal talent and political limitations, with its capacity to create institutions and norms, as well as its inability to apply them. For those who intend to learn about the nature of the Inter-American system, the work of Ismael Moreno Pino is required reading [...] it suggests a joint reflection on some of its important issues, to evaluate the role that the OAS should play and the role that Mexico ought to play with other Western Hemisphere countries."https://revistadigital.sre.gob.mx/images/stories/numeros/n59/sepulveda.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}
File:Presentation of Letters of Credence Noordeinde Palace.jpg, is received at the gates of the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague during his presentation of letters of credence to Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands between 1980 and 2013.]]

Portrayals in Culture and Media

= Henri Cartier Bresson Photograph in the V&A Museum =

In 1963, he and his wife were the subjects of a photograph{{Cite web |title=Henri Cartier-Bresson {{!}} Reception at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mexico City (1963) {{!}} MutualArt |url=https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Reception-at-the-Ministry-of-Foreign-Aff/2A689C50DAE06AEC |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=www.mutualart.com |language=en}} by Henri Cartier Bresson, the famed French photographer, which is now part of the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It is described as follows by the V&A Museum:

"Black and white photograph depicting guests at a drinks reception for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Mexico City. There are two men wearing tuxedos standing on the left holding drinks, whilst two women sit separately on elaborate chairs. The women are wearing almost identical outfits with fur coats. Two people present in the image are Ambassador Ismael Moreno Pino and Guadalupe Mercedes González de Hermosillo y Quirós."{{Cite web |last=Museum |first=Victoria and Albert |title=Mexico City. Reception at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 1963. {{!}} Cartier-Bresson, Henri {{!}} V&A Explore The Collections |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1061284/ |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections |year=1963 |language=en}}
The photograph is also published in Cartier Bresson's Mexican Notebooks 1934 – 64 (in French: Carnets Mexicains 1934 - 1964){{Cite book |last1=Cartier-Bresson |first1=Henri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AcMiAAAACAAJ&q=carnets+Mexicains+cartier+bresson |title=Carnets mexicains 1934-1964, Henri Cartier-Bresson |last2=Fuentes |first2=Carlos |date=1995 |publisher=Hazan |isbn=978-2-85025-408-6 |language=fr}} which includes several works by Cartier Bresson during his second stint living in Mexico.{{Cite news |last=Chouza |first=Paula |date=2015-04-28 |title=El idilio de Cartier-Bresson con México |url=https://elpais.com/cultura/2015/04/27/actualidad/1430090245_479805.html |access-date=2022-08-08 |work=El País |language=es |issn=1134-6582}} By 1963, when the photograph was taken, Cartier was already one of the most famous photographers in the world:
Cartier-Bresson would not return to the country for almost 30 years [...] by the time he returned to Mexico, on commission for LIFE magazine, he was one of the most celebrated photographers in the world. His access, and means were now far greater – he photographed a black-tie reception at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, trekked to the foothills of the Popocatepetl volcano, and stood on the frontline of the anniversary celebrations of the death of Emiliano Zapata, the Mexican Revolutionary.{{Cite web |title=Henri Cartier-Bresson's Mexico • Magnum Photos Magnum Photos |url=https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/travel/henri-cartier-bresson-mexico/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=Magnum Photos |language=en-US}}

Honors and Decorations

File:Insignia of the Order of Orange Nassau.jpg

Throughout his diplomatic career, Moreno Pino was awarded several honors from several governments, including those of Brazil, Chile, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, Mexico, Peru, The Republic of China, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia:

Bibliography

  • Moreno Pino, Ismael. Orígenes y evolución del sistema interamericano. Tlatelolco, México: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, 1977. OCLC 4041498[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/4041498 WorldCat]
  • Moreno Pino, Ismael. La diplomacia: aspectos teoricos y prácticos de su ejercicio profesional. México: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, 2001. {{ISBN|978-968-16-5234-0}}[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49543448 WorldCat]
  • Moreno Pino, Ismael. Derecho y diplomacia en las relaciones interamericanas. Mexico, D.F.: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1999. {{ISBN|978-968-16-5995-0}}[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/42682344 WorldCat]

References