Founded in Paris in 1896, the International Publishers Association may have headquarters in Geneva, but for the next two years, its heart will lie in Mexico City.

With offices in a neighborhood of the Mexican capital that is celebrated for historic Art Deco buildings and contemporary art galleries, the publishing house Manual Moderno recently marked its 60th anniversary. Over nearly half that time, Hugo Setzer has served as Manual Moderno’s CEO, building its reputation across Latin America for publishing excellence in medicine and psychology. And for the coming next two years, Hugo Setzer also serves as president of IPA, the International Publishers Association.

“I’m fully aware that my responsibility is for the whole of IPA globally, but I think it’s very good that now IPA has a president and a vice president from, so to say, non-traditional countries – [I am from] Latin America, and the vice president [Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi is] coming from the Arab world. I think this sends an important message of the truly international character of IPA,” Setzer says.

Publishing in Mexico, and across Latin America, has contributed significantly to the global industry, Setzer tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. He cited Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru, Mexican journalist and novelist Juan Villoro, and the bestselling Chilean-American author Isabel Allende, for their special contributions to world literature.

“It has helped to have a strong publishing industry in our [various] countries throughout Latin America. There is a long tradition of publishing in our region,” he explains. “We have been able to support important authors and the publication of many important works – in general literature, but also in science and in educational publishing as well.”