May 10-12, 2010
La Jolla, CA
XIX Annual Latin American Energy Conference
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March 22-26, 2010
La Jolla, CA
* On the Cutting Edge: Digital Reporting in the 21st Century Professional journalism workshop
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17th Annual Latino Film Festival

The Institute is a community partner of the Media Arts Center San Diego and its Latino Film Festival. Click on the image to see which films will be screened at the 17th Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival.

History

Established in 1983 at the initiative of the Gildred Foundation and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), the Institute of the Americas is recognized as a leading institution in United States-Canada-Latin America cooperation.

Since its inception, the Institute has brought together business and government leaders and representatives of civil society in forums designed to:

    * Facilitate networking and the exchange of viewpoints

    * Seek ways in which public and private entities can collaborate

    * Clarify rules and regulations so private enterprise can flourish

    * Promote the development of infrastructure through
      public-private funding

    * Implement effective policies for managing economic growth in
      Latin America

The Institute is best known for its energy and technology programs. The Institute’s multi-national team also organizes executive roundtables and professional workshops as well as an active community outreach program. Because of its strategic location on the U.S.-Mexico border, the Institute places a special emphasis on Mexico while offering programs on a wide range of topics in the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

The vision for the Institute came from Theodore E. Gildred, a San Diego land developer and former U.S. Ambassador to Argentina. He collaborated with Richard Atkinson, then Chancellor of UCSD and later president of the University of California to create an international relations center on campus.

The Institute was headed in its early years by Dr. Joseph Grunwald, an economist from the Brookings Institution. Ambassador Paul H. Boeker, a former career U.S. diplomat, was the president of the Institute until he passed away in March 2003. Jeffrey Davidow, a diplomat with a distinguished 34-year career, was named president in June 2003. Before joining the Institute, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela and Mexico and as assistant secretary of state.

The World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) have provided funding for Institute programs. U.S. and Latin American businesses now account for much of the Institute's financial support.

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IOA Fellow named to Cabinet by Chile's President Pinera

Cristian Larroulet

Cristián Larroulet Vignau, a 1992 Institute of the Americas Privatization Fellow, has been appointed Minister of Policy Coordination by Chile's newly elected president, Sebastián Piñera.

Larroulet's government position -- in Spanish "Minister Secretary General of the Presidency" -- is similar in influence to White House chief-of-staff, but it has added power by virtue of having ministerial status.

Until his appointment, Larroulet served simultaneously as the Executive Director of the Instituto Libertad y Desarrollo, a think tank, and Dean of the Universidad del Desarrollo's Economics Department, posts from which he frequently wrote and advised governments about regulation, economic policy, education policy and corporate governance.

His scholarship and public service have been recognized many times, including as Economist of the Year in 2009 by the newspaper El Mercurio.

One of the famed Chilean technocrats known as the "Chicago Boys," Larroulet conceived of and managed the implementation of successful privatizations, including the energy sector, as chief of staff for Minister of Hacienda Hernán Büchi during the military government of General Augusto Pinochet.

Larroulet, his wife Isabel Philippi and their seven children lived in Del Mar while he was in residence at the Institute in 1992, researching and writing his reflections on Chilean privatizations through the 1980s. The Institute's Privatization Program was supported by grants from the Andrew Mellon Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Institute of the Americas founding board member, Edgardo Boeninger, held the title of Minister Secretary General of the Presidency during the administration of Patricio Aylwin and is considered to have been one of the most influential persons to have held the position in the modern history of Chile.

The Institute honors the memory and legacy of Don Edgardo, who passed away on September 13, 2009, after distinguished service as Senator, Rector of the University of Chile and Vice President of the Christian Democratic Party. Boeninger is perhaps best remembered for his role in the creation of the Concertación (literally compromise/agreement) of left-center political parties that has governed Chile for the entire post-Pinochet period.

Institute Launches "Health Innovation Advisory Council"

The Institute of the Americas is building on the success of its professional training programs for Latin American and Caribbean health care professionals and science journalists by creating its "Health Innovation Advisory Council" for the region. The Council is a multidisciplinary, inter-American group of highly regarded health professionals who will provide strategic guidance on key aspects of health challenges and innovation, and *   Advise about creating a policy environment conducive for creating and
adopting more rapidly health innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean;

*   Suggest initiatives and partnerships for the Institute to further the
spread of health care innovations; and

*   Advise key potential change makers about these innovations, directly
and through educational work with Latin American and Caribbean journalists.

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Political and economic reforms needed in Mexico, analyst Denise Dresser says at IOA Tequila Talk

Denise Dresser at the institute of the Americas in La Jolla

LA JOLLA-Political analyst and journalist Denise Dresser spoke at the Institute of the Americas on Jan. 20 about Mexico’s political and economic reforms to an audience of nearly 150 people who braved torrential rain to hear her remarks.

In a measured and often witty tone, Dresser said the single most important change Mexico needs is reelection to political office. Why? Because politicians are not accountable, and, although not reelected, move from one political seat to the next without impunity, she said.

Dresser described Mexico as a democracy without representation, which is unable to produce economic equity for its 105 million citizens.

The past 10 years, have cast Mexico into paralysis: Electoral reform worked, but people became complacent and did not seek the necessary structural reforms such as changes in regulatory framework, dismantling the old oligarchy, or competition and antitrust laws to level the economic playing field.

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