Conferences in Latin America

The Manhattan Institute has found partnering with local think tanks in Latin America to hold conferences an effective way to introduce ideas and create enthusiasm. However, the ultimate goal of our work is not simply to hold conferences, but to build long-term working relationships to help leaders in these countries develop practical crime-fighting, school-building, and government-reform programs. For that reason each of our conferences is arranged to include several days of smaller working seminars and one-on-one meetings with government officials and opinion leaders.

Upcoming Conferences:

November 15-16, 2001: Caracas, Venezuela. For information, contact Donna Thompson, Associate Director, IAPE.

Past Conferences:

Venezuela: In September 2000, former New York City Police Commissioner and Senior Fellow of the Institute Bill Bratton, Senior Fellow George Kelling, and Carlos Medina visited Caracas, Venezuela. Their trip was organized by the think tank CEDICE, the Venezuela-American Chamber of Commerce, and the new Mayor of Caracas Alfredo Pena. It included a major conference entitled “Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in our Communities” that was attended by over 500 people and a smaller seminar with all the business leaders of Caracas entitled “Improving Commercial Spaces—Business Improvement Districts.” The visit also included meetings with the mayors of the five largest municipalities in Caracas, the Attorney General Javier Elechiguerra, the Chiefs of the Metropolitan Police Force and the Municipal Police Force, and U.S. Ambassador Donna Hrinak.

Mexico: In May 2000, George Kelling visited Mexico City and gave the keynote address before 5,000 people at a major Mexico Unido Contra la Delincuencia conference. All three major presidential candidates were in attendance and George Kelling met privately with the presidential candidate Vicente Fox who has used his ideas as the basis for his proposed public safety agenda. Dr. Kelling also spoke at a conference at the Instituto Ludwig Von Mises. Finally, U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow hosted a lunch at his residence to discuss solutions for Mexico’s escalating crime problem that included a dozen high-ranking government officials such as the Governor of the State of Queretaro, Ignacio Loyola; Governor of the State of Nuevo Leon, Fernando Canales Clariond; and the Secretary for Public Safety for Mexico City, Alejandro Gertz Manero.

Brazil: In March 2000, the Institute organized a series of conferences and meetings in both Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Our partners in Sao Paulo included the American Chamber of Commerce, the Fundacao Victor Civita, and the S3 Studium organization. These groups helped organize a major conference entitled “The Future of Sao Paulo—A New Urban Agenda” that was attended by over 250 people, including public officials such as the Secretary of Education for the State of Sao Paulo, Rose Neubauer, the Vice-Governor, Geraldo Alckmin, and a number of prominent business leaders. Later that week, our delegation traveled to Rio for a series of meetings with the community-based crime prevention program Viva Rio, the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Instituto Liberal and the Fundacao Getulio Vargas.

Chile: In November 1999, the Institute held two major conferences in Santiago co-sponsored by the Instituto Libertad y Desarrollo, another in the city of Concepcion organized by the Universidad del Desarrollo, and other smaller seminars at Fundacion Paz Ciudadana and Fundacion Chile. We also had a series of very productive meetings with school administrators, high-ranking police officials, government ministers, and even Santiago Mayor Joaquin Lavin who took time from his presidential campaign to meet with us.

Argentina: In May 1999, the Institute was pleased to work with the Fundacion Libertad and La Nacion newspaper to host two important conferences on crime and education in Buenos Aires that each drew an audience of over 200 people. Our itinerary included meetings with all three major presidential candidates—Eduardo Duhalde, Governor of Buenos Aires State; Fernando de la Rua, then Mayor of Buenos Aires; and Domingo Cavallo, Minister of the Economy. In addition, Senior Fellow George Kelling spoke at an extraordinary public rally in Luna Park which drew some 10,000 Buenos Aires citizens concerned about their city’s rising crime rates.