Left to right: former Presidents Juan Carlos Wasmosy (Paraguay), Luis Alberto Lacalle (Uruguay), Gustavo Noboa (Ecuador), Vinicio Cerezo (Guatemala), and Jaime Paz Zamora (Bolivia).
Seven former Latin American presidents joined international scholars and political leaders to assess challenges to effective governance in the region at two conferences sponsored by the Latin American Presidential Mission on August 19 and 20, 2013 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Former presidents Luis Alberto Lacalle and Jorge Batlle from Uruguay, Gustavo Noboa of Ecuador, Jaime Paz Zamora and Carlos Mesa of Bolivia, Vinicio Cerezo of Guatemala, and Juan Carlos Wasmosy of Paraguay participated in a range of deliberations on topics which included:
- Separation of Powers and the Independence of the Judicial System: Challenges in Latin America;
Former heads of state and participants signed the “Declaration of Montevideo.”
- Judicial Power and the Phenomena of Corruption and Organized Crime in Central America and Mexico; and
- Threats to Republican Democratic Institutions in Latin America.
The August 20 conference, “Emerging Leadership and the Experience of Former Presidents,” gave a prestigious group of current young leaders from Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile an opportunity to learn from the experience of former presidents in attendance. Participants shared their insights on the importance of leadership and on a renewal of the values on which leadership should be based.
At the closing plenary, the former heads of state and participants signed the “Declaration of Montevideo,” affirming the importance of defending republican democracy in Latin America.
The Latin American Presidential Mission was launched during Global Peace Convention in Atlanta on October 31, 2012. It is a project of the Global Peace Foundation, with the support of the Institute for Development of Thought Patria Soñada of Paraguay, the Esquipulas Foundation of Guatemala, and the Uruguayan Leadership Conference.
