Last Friday, former president Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic spoke in Riggs Library about Latin American history and politics. He spoke of democracy, development, and prosperity in the region. Fernandez has recently joined Georgetown’s Center for Latin American Studies as a member of the advisory board. Members provide funding for various research initiatives and support Georgetown’s relationship with Latin American countries.

Professor Erick Langer, president of the Center of Latin American Studies, introduced Fernandez, apologizing for the 30-minute delay (in the Carribean, he said, “usually time flows differently”). Langer mentioned that Fernandez, while fluent in English, would much prefer to give the speech in Spanish if the entire audience would be able to understand. Approximately 50 people were in attendance; all Spanish-speaking.

Fernandez spoke about both the opportunities and challenges facing Latin American countries, historically and today. While delving into the Dominican Republic’s history, the former president described the unique position the Dominican Republic had when gaining independence from Haitian occupation. Fernandez also talked about other parts of Latin American history, such as Cuban American relations, the Mexican Revolution, and Venezuela.

During his lecture, Fernandez spoke passionately about Haiti’s fight for independence. “I think the independence of Haiti, which marked a profound liberation fight, generated a problem that none of the other Latin American countries caused. This is the fact that by separating from France, Haiti did what no country had done until then, and will do after, which is proclaiming independence and abolishing slavery at the same time,” he said. “The fact of having abolished slavery generated a situation of international isolation. No country recognized Haiti as an independent country.”

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From ruling the ICC to ruling half the globe…

Arturo Valenzuela, a professor of Government and the Director of the Center for Latin American Studies in the SFS, was just named as President Obama’s nominee for Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Born in Chile, Valenzuela specializes on Latin American politics and U.S.-Latin American relations. During the Clinton administration, he served as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council.

Photo from the SFS website. Thanks to former Voice EIC Tim Fernholz for the tip!