Americas Project participants enjoy a mini reunion in Costa Rica in summer 2011. Left to right: Mishelle Mitchell ’06, news director, Radio Central (Monumental-Reloj); Nancy Hernández ’03, chief of staff to president of the Supreme Court; Emilio Jiménez ’09, adviser to the speaker of Congress; Marcela Villasuso ’98, consultant at CIDH; Erika de la Garza, program director, Baker Institute Latin America Initiative
Meeting a group of young leaders from different walks of life in the Americas is a privilege I look forward to every year.
The Baker Institute’s Americas Project, in collaboration with the Organization of American States, brings together 15 young leaders from the Caribbean and North, South and Central America to Houston to discuss pressing issues affecting the region. Since the project’s inception in 1998, more than 130 men and women between the ages of 25 and 40 representing approximately 31 countries have come to the Baker Institute to discuss topics ranging from trade, poverty, and security to education. The opportunity to interact with other young dynamic leaders has proven to be of great value. A case in point is the network established among many of the participants from Costa Rica.
This summer while in Costa Rica, I met with four alumni of our Americas Project. These participants’ bright careers cover a wide spectrum of professional and academic backgrounds: politics, media, law and academia. One is the news director of a major local radio station, another is the chief of staff to the president of the Supreme Court, the third is a consultant at a prominent think tank, and the fourth is an adviser to the speaker of the Costa Rican Congress. The direct relationships they’ve established through the Americas Project facilitate their work when reaching across areas of influence in their country and contributing to public policy.
One of the topics of discussion during our lunch meeting at the Congress building in San José was the prominent role the Costa Rican media has taken on in the last few years. In 2004, the local press uncovered two cases of corruption that dramatically impacted the country’s political class.
The first had to do with former President Miguel A. Rodríguez, who was found guilty of instigating corruption in a case involving the French telecommunications firm, Alcatel. Last April, President Rodríguez was sentenced to five years in prison and was banned from holding any public office for 12 years. He is appealing.
The second case had to do with former President Rafael Angel Calderón, who was sentenced to three years in prison for receiving gifts from the Finnish company Instrumentarum Medko for buying medical equipment for public clinics and hospitals. In contrast with President Rodríguez, President Calderón contended that his involvement in these purchases occurred after his presidency, and thus was legal.
During our lunch, Mishelle Mitchell, an Americas Project participant in 2006 and the current news director of Radio Central (Monumental-Reloj), offered this perspective: “These unprecedented incidents of the Costa Rican press showed that no one in this country is above the law.” Her comment initiated a heated discussion regarding Costa Rica’s laws regulating freedom of expression, including a proposed law that would have allowed exceptions for penalizing crimes of insult, slander and defamation when, in the public’s interest, information or declarations are reproduced from other local or foreign news sources — as long as the source is revealed. In June, Costa Rica’s congress decided not to vote on this bill and to let it die.
Our luncheon provided a forum to exchange views, clarify ideas and solidify relationships. We all left looking forward to our next get-together and secure in the unity that comes from knowing that, despite any difference of opinions, we all want to contribute to making Costa Rica a safer place to live.
On October 13, a new group of young leaders will meet through the Americas Project to discuss “21st Century Borders in the Americas.” Although the world has gotten smaller through technological connectivity, borders continue to play a crucial role in a country’s foreign relations. Among the topics to be discussed are transnational organized crime, territorial disputes, sovereignty, and the socio-economic aspects of migration. We hope that having participants share what has and hasn’t worked in their home countries will shed some light on how to better manage 21st-century borders. In addition, the Americas Project continues to build a valuable network of young “go-to” decision-makers throughout the Hemisphere.
Erika de la Garza is the program director of the Latin America Initiative at the Baker Institute. She is in charge of the Latin America Initiative programs, which include the Americas Project, the U.S.-Mexico Border Program and the Vecinos Lecture Series. Her chief areas of interest include U.S.-Latin American relations; emerging leadership; coalition building between public, private and civil society actors; and trade and business development in Latin America.