International Colloquium Commemorates 60 Years of the Dominican Democratic Movement.
Paris, France.– Former President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández, is in Paris to lead an international colloquium this Tuesday, April 22, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the April 1965 Revolution, a decisive event in Dominican democratic history.
The event is jointly organized by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), presided over by Leonel Fernández, and the Maison de l’Amérique Latine, with the support of French and Spanish academic institutions.
This marks the first event jointly organized by GFDD’s offices in France, coordinated by Laura Faxas, and Spain, under the direction of Ynés Vargas, representing a milestone in efforts to internationalize the historical-political analysis of the Dominican Republic.
Fernández arrived in the French capital on Monday, April 21, where he was welcomed at Charles de Gaulle International Airport by a large group of Dominicans, including members and leaders of the Fuerza del Pueblo party, which he also presides over.
The colloquium, taking place at the Maison de l’Amérique Latine, aims to promote a deep reflection on the background, impact, and democratic projection of the Constitutional Revolution, which in 1965 pitted nationalist sectors against U.S. military forces.
The colloquium will open at 9:00 a.m. with welcoming remarks by French diplomat Jean-Marc Laforêt, president of the Maison de l’Amérique Latine, followed by speeches from Leonel Fernández and Arnaud Teyssier, president of the Scientific Council of the Charles de Gaulle Foundation.
The first roundtable (9:30–10:30 a.m.), titled “Background of the April Revolution and U.S. Intervention,” will feature historian Frank Moya Pons, sociologist and historian Roberto Cassá (via video), and American political scientist Abraham Lowenthal. The session will be moderated by Leonel Fernández.
At 10:45 a.m., the second roundtable will address the “International Impact of the April Revolution,” with special emphasis on the roles of France and Latin America. Participants include historian Maurice Vaïsse, diplomat Jean Mendelson, and former Dominican Vice President Rafael Alburquerque (via video). The session will be moderated by academic Pedro A. Martínez Lillo and jurist Laurence Burgorgue-Larsen.
At noon, a historic documentary produced by the Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF) on the Dominican crisis of May 1965 will be screened.
In the afternoon, at 2:30 p.m., the third panel, titled “New Approaches to the April Revolution,” will begin, featuring presentations by historians Pedro Martínez Lillo, Daniel Rodríguez Suárez, Javier Castro, and diplomat and journalist Víctor Grimaldi. The session will be moderated by Juan Luis Cebrián, member of the Royal Spanish Academy and former director of the newspaper El País.
At 3:30 p.m., the fourth roundtable, “Dominican Republic Post-April 1965: Toward the Construction of Democracy,” will take place, with French sociologist Michel Wieviorka, former President of the Dominican Constitutional Court Milton Ray Guevara, and former French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve as participants.
The closing conversation (5:00–6:00 p.m.) will feature Leonel Fernández and influential French thinker Jacques Attali, moderated by Juan Luis Cebrián. The discussion will focus on global challenges and opportunities for democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Alongside the colloquium, a photography exhibition dedicated to the events of April 1965 will be presented, curated by Nicole Méndez, Isabel Mendoza, and Ramón Aceña Rincón. At 6:00 p.m., a documentary inspired by the work of Dominican filmmaker René Fortunato will be screened, followed by the official opening of the exhibit.
This international colloquium not only commemorates a key date in Dominican history but also reaffirms Leonel Fernández’s commitment to preserving historical memory and promoting democratic values on an international scale.
