WHAT: Luis Guillermo Solís, former president of Costa Rica, and Sergio Ramírez, former vice president of Nicaragua, will discuss challenges facing Central America, which have propelled massive waves of migrants, at an event presented by the LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections at The University of Texas at Austin.
WHEN: 4:30 – 6 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 30.
WHERE: LBJ School of Public Affairs, Bass Lecture Hall, 2315 Red River St., Austin, TX 78712
MEDIA: Media are invited to attend.
BACKGROUND: Amid crippling social inequality, political unrest and unprecedented numbers of migrants fleeing violence, Central American countries have yet to successfully address the obstacles to peace, justice and prosperity for the majority of their citizens.
LLILAS Benson will host an exchange of ideas between Ramírez, winner of the 2017 Cervantes Prize in Literature who was vice president of Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990; and Guillermo Solís, president of Costa Rica from 2014 to 2018. The two will be joined by Gordon Dee Smith, founder and CEO of Strategic Insight Group, a private intelligence company.
The event will touch on issues such as the crisis of democracy in Nicaragua, challenges and opportunities in relations between the Central American nations and their neighbors to the north, and the continuing conflicts of social inequality and crime in the region. It is the inaugural lecture of the Cátedra Ernesto Cardenal, an LLILAS Benson initiative to promote research and scholarly dialogue focused on Central America.
The forum will allow time for audience questions.
The event is co-sponsored by the Latin America Initiative at the School of Law, the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and the Office of the President.
More event details, including RSVP and livestream links, are available here: https://www.facebook.com/events/271576103549617/ .
