Andean leaders joined prominent Latin American scholars on campus Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the region's future at a conference.
Hosted by Brown's Center for Latin American Studies and the Watson Institute for International Studies, the conference featured a keynote discussion with diplomats from Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia.
Called "Changes in the Andes: Realities, Challenges and Opportunities for Inter-American Relations," the conference comprised five panels. The panels, which focused on themes including social equality, sustainability and the role of natural resources in the Andes, each featured one speaker on behalf of each of the three countries and a commentator in a discussion moderated by Brown faculty members.
The keynote event, a roundtable discussion held on Tuesday in a half-full Salomon 101, featured ambassadors from Ecuador and Venezuela, Luis Benigno Gallegos Chiriboga and Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, and the first minister in the Bolivian embassy to the United States, Virginia Aillon. After introductions from James Green, director of the Center for Latin American studies, and former Sen. Lincoln Chafee '75, a visiting fellow in international studies at the Watson Institute, the participants spoke in turn about the problems with neo-liberal reforms in their countries.
After their comments, the group fielded questions first from Christopher Lydon, a media personality and visiting fellow at the Watson Institute, and then from the audience. While Lydon's questions focused on the diplomats' thoughts on the Democratic presidential primary race, some students asked Alvarez questions about the policies of Hugo Chavez's government.
The conference was meant to shed light on the democratic transformations happening in a region largely ignored by the American media. The elections of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in 1998, Bolivian president Evo Morales in 2005 and Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa in 2006 all represent the transition of power in the region from right-wing reformists to the people, Aillon said.
"Our concern was to create within the academic world a dialogue about what is going on in Latin America," Green said. He criticized mainstream coverage of the region, saying that one of the conference's goals was "to overcome the stereotypes and the hysteria that exist in the U.S. media."
Green said the conference will produce a policy statement to send to Congress and presidential candidates. The statement will increase awareness of Latin America as more than just a place from which people emigrate to the U.S., Green said.
The Center for Latin American Studies will also produce an edited collection of articles based on the conference discussions to be printed in an academic publication, Green said. Green said he hopes to make the "Changes in the Andes" conference an annual event at Brown that focuses on a different theme every year, such as the environment, drug policy and indigenous movements. He also said he hopes to engage David Kennedy '76, vice president for international affairs, in an effort to establish a permanent institute at Brown in which Latin American leaders can meet with scholars and policy makers to discuss how to make "better policies for the world."
Over winter break, David Poritz '11, while working for a non-profit in Ecuador, helped organize the conference by scheduling leaders' visits to Brown. "I think it was a huge accomplishment," he said. "The Andean region is so important. Politically, economically - it's becoming a real global player.."
Poritz said he hopes for a continued dialogue on the transformations in the Andes at Brown and a change in the American attitude toward the region. He called the event an "inauguration," and said it "represents the beginning of a movement regarding the Andean region in America."
