studies, or cemla. i would be remiss if, before ending, i did not note the strong leadership that governor agustin carstens continues to provide at the bank of mexico. his leadership in economic policy, in several key roles, has been instrumental in solidifying the progress that mexico has made over the past two decades. agustin has also built an impressive record in the international policy community more broadly. he is currently the chair of the bis consultative council for the americas, has recently been appointed chair of the bis economic bis central bankers ’ speeches consultative committee and the global economy meeting, and played a key role in mexico ’ s successful presidency of the g - 20 last year. to conclude, i would like to congratulate the bank of mexico on the 20th anniversary of its independence. i wish you a productive conference marking this auspicious occasion. and i wish the bank of mexico continued success in its work to stabilize and strengthen the mexican economy. bis central bankers ’ speeches

ben s bernanke : celebrating 20 years of the bank of mexico ’ s independence remarks by mr ben s bernanke, chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at the “ central bank independence – progress and challenges ”, a conference sponsored by the bank of mexico, mexico city, ( via prerecorded video ), 14 october 2013. * * * it is a pleasure to offer a few remarks at this conference marking the 20th anniversary of the bank of mexico ’ s independence. in august 1993, mexico ’ s congress approved changes to the country ’ s constitution that granted policy autonomy to the bank of mexico and made price stability its primary mandate. over the past two decades, these actions, along with a number of other constructive steps taken by mexican policymakers, have paid substantial dividends in terms of improved economic performance. at the time that the mexican congress changed the status and mandate of the central bank, the nation ’ s economy had been suffering periodic bouts of economic instability for many years. the 1970s through the mid - 1990s in particular were marked by episodes of high inflation, boom - and - bust cycles, and financial crises. indeed, shortly after the new bank of mexico law went into effect in april 1994, the mexican economy entered the throes of the socalled peso crisis. however, the changes to the monetary policy framework, along with greater fiscal discipline and the adoption of a more flexible exchange rate, soon bore fruit. notably, inflation fell to single - digit levels by the early 2000s. and in 2001 the bank of mexico formally adopted an inflation - targeting regime, which – outside of some temporary fluctuations – has succeeded in keeping inflation at around 4 percent. importantly, the improved monetary policy framework, together with other reforms, has thus far helped reduce mexico ’ s susceptibility to financial crises. when the recent financial crisis in the united states and other advanced economies threatened to spill over to mexico, the inflation credibility enjoyed by the bank of mexico allowed it to counter economic weakness by easing monetary conditions, even though headline inflation was running above its target range at the time. the bank ’ s rate cuts helped stabilize the economy, and mexican output returned to its pre - crisis level by late 2010. strong countercyclical policy actions of this type were unlikely to have been feasible in mexico a few decades ago ; with little in the way of inflation - fighting credibility and an immature financial sector, the monetary authority in earlier years was often forced