| Sumario: | In this article, sister cities’ agreements are analyzed, as they are a modality of international activity representing a significant share of the paradiplomatic activity conducted by local governments. Few of the more than 400 sister cities agreements registered in the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs are useful. The role of the Mexican diplomatic representations–embassies and consulates–is explored in detail regarding the visibility and functionality of the sister cities’ agreements. Through a questionnaire sent to all the Mexican diplomatic representations, the institutionalization of the sister cities’ agreements carried out by the diplomatic representations is analyzed. Based on the responses to the questionnaire, an index is proposed to assess the participation of embassies and consulates in the visibility, functionality, and institutionalization of the sister cities’ agreements. The analysis includes geographical considerations and the identification of successful cases in the participation of embassies and consulates.
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