The former president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández, presented the conclusions of the “Global Forum @ Casa de Campo: Onward to the Upcoming Summit of the Americas: Hemispheric Challenges and Renewed Perspectives,” on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in conjunction with prominent political analysts Daniel Zovatto and Eduardo Gamarra.
Casa de Campo, La Romana – The Global Forum @ Casa de Campo concluded on Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022 with a vehement call made by the participants for the next IX Summit of the Americas – to be held this upcoming June in Los Angeles, California – to become a venue where real and effective solutions to the main problems faced by the American continent are addressed.
The Forum´s final conclusions were presented by the former President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández; the director of the Latino Public Opinion Forum of Florida International University (FIU), Eduardo Gamarra; and by Daniel Zovatto, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA International.
The three participants agreed on the need for the Latin American and Caribbean nations to develop a common agenda to be presented at the Summit. The agenda would include, as accurately as possible, the needs, interests and aspirations of the region.
At the same time, political scientist Daniel Zovatto highlighted that from 1994 to date nine Summits of the Americas have been held, indicating that the continuity of the event should be highlighted.
However, he indicated that the Summit scheduled for this year will be held under unprecedented circumstances. Specifically, in a situation where Latin America is facing a challenging future due to the recent pandemic and, in addition, to being fragmented, polarized, without consensus and with worrying setbacks in the democratic process.
“We have never had such significant challenges and setbacks in our democratic systems,” Zovatto declared, after pointing out that the United States is also facing a situation of considerable institutional deterioration.
“It is a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous scenario, where political risks are constantly on the rise. This is the context,” said the expert.
For Zovatto, the agenda that Latin America will present at the June Summit is not clear, an aspect he considers to be highly worrisome.
It is precisely for this reason that he favors the drafting of a document, detailing a series of concrete proposals, to be presented at the Summit.
At the same time, analyst Eduardo Gamarra favors the active involvement of civil society in the preparation of the agenda that the region should present before the Los Angeles Summit.
“These issues are too important to leave them exclusively in the hands of politicians,” said Gamarra, seconding a proposal made earlier by former Mexican President Felipe Calderón.
Former President Fernández thanked the panelists, and all the Forum national and international participants, for their participation in the event.
Referring to the upcoming Summit of the Americas, Fernández said that Latin America is not a priority on the U.S. agenda. “We are going to this Summit at the worst moment in relations between Latin America and the United States,” declared the former Dominican president.
He also indicated that, in addition, the region is facing a credibility crisis before international organizations, and expressed that for the Latin American region it is very important to establish strong ties with the United States and Canada.
Similarly, he urged civil society to join the efforts being carried out to develop the agenda that the region needs to present before the Summit.
“We must present a set of ideas to the governments that are going to represent us at the Summit, so that an agenda emerges that responds to the needs, interests and aspirations of Latin America,” said former President Fernández.
“Onward to the Upcoming Summit of the Americas: Hemispheric Challenges and Renewed Perspectives,” was the central theme of the Casa de Campo Global Forum, which took place at the Marina Riverside Center, at the internationally renowned tourist destination, situated in the eastern city of La Romana, with the participation of leading analysts of the American continent. IDEA International was an integral part of the institutions that supported the Forum.
Official forum page: https://foroglobalfunglode.org/
Forum video is available on the Funglode Multimedia channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghaGUxNPqrw
