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Institute Celebrates 26th Anniversary with Dinner and Hemispheric Conference
Conference focuses on Critical Issues in Latin America
The annual conference brings together important hemispheric leaders and analysts to discuss the region’s economy, the assault on Latin America’s democracies and the increasing danger that drugs and violence represent for the continent. This event will gather experts such as Enrique García, president of the Andean Development corporation (CAF); Teodoro Petkoff, founder of the newspaper Tal Cual which has been outspoken in its criticism of both Chavismo and those who supported the coup attempt against President Hugo Chávez.; Robert Bonner, former Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and former Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Manuel Camacho Solís, former mayor of Mexico City; Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based center for policy analysis and exchange on Western Hemisphere affairs; and Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, the leading organization in the United States promoting alternatives to the war on drugs. These experts will address unanswered questions regarding today’s crisis and tomorrow’s recovery --neopopulism and institutional weakness in which the case of Venezuela and the coup in Honduras will be discussed as well as the war on drugs and the possibility of alternative policies for the region paying special attention to Plan Colombia and the Merida Initiative. The Critical Issues in Latin America Conference will build on the Institute’s experience in organizing successful meetings on these topics and will present an opportunity to debate and search for solutions to those issues of great concern to local governments, the media and the general population in Latin America and around the globe. World-renowned cellist Carlos Prieto performs bravura concierto at the Institute of the Americas "This was one of the finest evenings ever at the Institute," said Jeffrey Davidow, president of the Institute of the Americas, citing the intellect, warmth and soul conveyed by Maestro Prieto in his talk and in his performance. Before the concert, the Maestro recounted how his cello, which he affectionately refers to as "Miss Cello Prieto," survived disasters including potential confiscation by the Nazis and removal by New York garbage collectors. The cello started its life in Italy, and has resided in Spain, Ireland, England, Italy, Germany, and the United States before joining Maestro Prieto in his native Mexico and on his journeys around the globe. The Institute of the Americas concert was not the Maestro's first visit to San Diego. At a previous performance in La Jolla, two young women approached him at a cocktail reception and asked whether the cello was new.They immediately lost interest when he told them it was more than 280 years old. The elegantly-dressed crowd at the Institute of the Americas included music lovers, long-time fans of Maestro Prieto, young cellists and their parents. At one point, upon encountering the soft, uncalloused hands of a teen-aged cellist, Maestro Prieto suggested, "you need to practice more." The Maestro spoke with fans and signed books for more than an hour, including his most recent work, "The Adventures of a Cello." The musical program included sections of a work dedicated to Maestro Prieto by the outstanding contemporary Mexican composer Samuel Zyman and movements from a work by Bach for unaccompanied cello. Bersin: New era for U.S.-Mexico relations in the war on drugs
LA JOLLA – As drug cartels respond to the Mexican government’s war on narcotics smuggling with increased violence, U.S.-Mexico relations have undergone a “historic breakthrough” in bilateral strategies to confront organized crime organizations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner nominee Alan Bersin said during a Sept. 10 speech at the Institute of the Americas.
‘The world and Mexico are prepared’ for next wave of A/H1N1, journalists told during IOA workshop
“We are not going to prevent all the cases,” Dr. Stephen Waterman, who heads the CDC’s Quarantine and Border Health Services Branch in San Diego, told international journalists attending a Sept. 21-25 Pandemic Preparedness workshop organized by the Institute of the Americas. “Of course, we will have an increase in cases. But we do not think it will be as serious as we initially thought.” Valuable lessons were learned during the first outbreak , Waterman told the journalists. “You do not want to create alarm,” he said. “It is possible to confront the situation. It is possible to prevent the illness.” Waterman shared his observations with journalists and government communicators from 10 countries in the Hemisphere who attended the workshop at the Institute’s La Jolla campus. The communicators traveled from Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Bolivia, Uruguay, Ecuador and the United States to learn about the latest advances in the fight against the pandemic influenza. During the five-day workshop the journalists toured the Naval Health Research Center, whose scientists confirmed the first two cases of A/H1N1 in the United States. The journalists also heard a presentation from Dr. Dennis Burton, a leading researcher on HIV/AIDS antibodies at Scripps Research Institute. And they met with health care professionals and human rights workers who are preparing to treat at-risk groups during the next wave of the influenza. Six months after the first deadly outbreak, Waterman said, “the world and Mexico are well prepared for the situation.” He stressed the importance of vaccinating high-risk groups – pregnant woman, patients who suffer from asthma or chronic lung disease, diabetics and people with kidney and liver disorders. “It is important to communicate which are the high-risk groups,” Waterman said. “The vaccine will not be available for everyone.” He credited Mexico with sharing information on the virus when the outbreak began. “I think the response of Mexico was very good in the eyes of the CDC,” Waterman said. “The response was agile and flexible.” The A/H1N1 virus “was a surprise to everyone,” he said. “We were expecting a new virus because it has been more than 50 years since the last pandemic. We had made plans to confront a new virus. But when a new virus arrives the situation is always a little confused at the beginning." With the virus apparently under control, the CDC and doctors in Mexico are working closely on issues ranging from vaccines to anti-virals to technical questions surrounding treatment. “There is a new recognition now of the need to collaborate,” Waterman said. Pandemic Influenza Focus of Panama Conference The Government of Panama has a long history of regional, civil and military cooperation on health issues, from its critical cooperation with American military doctors and engineers to conquer diseases and open a path for development with the building of the Panama Canal to the leading role of the Gorgas Institute today in responding to A/H1N1. The Institute of the Americas, in partnership with the Government of Panama and with the support of the U.S. Southern Command, hosted a regional symposium Aug. 26-27 to address the following key objectives: Exchange information on processes and capabilities in response to recent pandemic influenza outbreak; advance a regional dialogue that increases international discourse on this issue; and to identify, promote, and facilitate future responses to challenges presented by pandemic influenza. Top health care professionals focused on existing strong, dynamic civil-military cooperation within and among Central American nations, while also drawing on the experience and lessons learned from Mexico, Argentina and Chile in dealing with A/H1N1. To read a report on the conference, click here Rich variety of summer CEPAS sessions touches on wine production, politics and international trade LA JOLLA – Wine making. Mexican politics. Trade opportunities with Chile. The Institute of the Americas’ Cepas From Camillo Magoni’s recounting of his 40 years producing fine wine in Baja California to the keen observations of political commentator Ana Maria Salazar, the Institute of the Americas highlighted the diversity of the region. During a Tequila Talk presentation, Mexican Immigration Commissioner Cecilia Romero called for shared responsibility by the United States and Mexico on the thorny issue of immigration, noting that beyond the geography that links the two countries there are strong family and community ties that demand immigration reform. Baja California Gov. José Guadalupe Osuna Millan focused during his Tequila Talk on energy and other business opportunities in the border region. And Chilean Ambassador José Goñi talked during a summer evening session about trade opportunities between his country and the vibrant California-Mexico border. This fall, the Institute will highlight Latin American culture and arts during three special events. On Oct. 29, the Institute will host an exhibit of powerful images by award-winning journalist and documentary photographer David Bacon that explores the challenges faced by California’s indigenous Mexican migrant community. Clay pottery will be on exhibit on Nov. 5, and a special presentation on the fascinating folk art of Mexico’s Huichol Indians will be held on Dec. 3. To register, contact Isabel Escalle or call 858-453-5560. IOA teams with SEMARNAT to host
LA JOLLA – The Institute of the Americas and Mexico's Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) hosted an Aug. 10-12 professional workshop on climate change for Mexican journalists. IOA President Jeffrey Davidow and Juan Elvira Quesada, Mexico's Minister of the Environment announced plans for the workshop during a June 4 conference in Cozumel commemorating World Environment Day, noting that their intention was to develop a sustained and lasting understanding of climate change and its impact on Mexico and the Americas. To accomplish that goal, the Institute of the Americas, in cooperation with SEMARNAT, hosted an intensive training program that offered both field trips to meet with experts on climate change and scientific sessions in the Institute's conference center. Read more The workshop included a day-long science workshop at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where journalists participated in sessions with scientists in the Climate Research Division and in the Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine. Journalists also met with scientists studying the impact of climate change on coral reefs, an issue of great concern to Mexico and, in particular to Cozumel, whose barrier reef system -- the second-largest in the world -- provides a rich environment for many species, including some unique species not found anywhere else on Earth. At the close of the three-day workshop, Elvira met with journalists to talk about measures he is taking in Mexico to address climate change. Elvira also addressed a bi-national audience during an Institute of the Americas Tequila Talk. Davidow pointed out that the Institute of the Americas is well situated for this type workshop because it is located on the University of California, San Diego, campus, which for many years has been at the forefront of research on climate change. Dr. Roger Revelle, one of the first scientists to study climate change, is credited with successfully lobbying for the establishment of a University of California campus in San Diego. When Dr. Revelle accepted a professorship at Harvard University, Al Gore was one of his students. Vice President Gore acknowledged Dr. Revelle in the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" as his inspiration for his climate change public awareness campaign. While other universities have more recently focused on climate change, the issue has been one of the fundamentals of instruction at the UCSD campus since its inception. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which became part of the University of California in 1912, is noted for its research on physical, chemical, biological, geological and geophysical studies of the oceans and the Earth. Winners announced for Second Annual Jack F. Ealy Latin American Scientific Journalism Award LA JOLLA – The Institute of the Americas and the Fundacion Ealy Ortiz on July 13 announced the winners of the Second Jack F. Ealy Latin American Scientific Journalism Award. Winners of the award – the only science journalism award in Latin America -- were chosen from journalists who received full scholarships to attend the sixth annual Jack F. Ealy Workshop on Science Journalism held July 7-16 at the Institute of the Americas. The awards were judged by Dr. Juan Ramon de la Fuente, who served for eight years as rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Latin America’s largest university; Sergio Munoz, a former Los Angeles Times editorial board member whose syndicated column appears in newspapers throughout Latin America; Enrique Bustamente, director of Fundacion Ealy Ortiz and S. Lynne Walker, who was Copley News Service Mexico City Bureau Chief for 15 years and now serves as vice president of the Institute of the Americas. The workshop and the Ealy journalism award, which are designed to encourage in-depth, comprehensive coverage of science, health and environmental issues, were initiated by Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, president of the board of Mexico City-based El Universal in honor of his late father, Jack F. Ealy. First-place winners each received a cash prize of $5,000, second-place winners received $3,000 and third-place winners received a cash prize of $2,000. Winners of the Jack F. Ealy Latin American Journalism Award for Health coverage are: First place – Nelly Luna, who reports on health and science issues for “El Comercio” in Lima, Peru. Luna’s winning entry is a poignant story on women infected with AIDS. “Splendid,” Muñoz said of Luna’s winning entry. “Relevant, well written and clear. Making good use of sources the store narrates a human drama without being overly sentimental and reveals the social repercussions.” Second place – Ernesto Méndez, who reports for Grupo Imagen, Excélsior and Cadena 3 in México City. Méndez’s winning work tells of a mother’s long and politically sensitive fight to force the prosecution of a company responsible for the contamination death of her daughter. “Narrated with great agility, the story is relevant and terrifying,” Muñoz said. “Recognizing an extraordinary person for her humanity, her persistence and her social commitment, the writer gently takes the reader to a devastating place. The good use of sources permits him to document the horror of this story of death and impunity.” Third place – Sebastian Escalón, a freelance reporter whose work regularly appears in Siglo XXI in Guatemala. Escalón’s winning entry explains the Big Bang theory in a lively, accessible style. “Sebastian explains the Big Bang theory with a light-hearted style that reaches readers far beyond the scientific community,” Walker said. The winners of the Jack F. Ealy Latin American Journalism Award for Environmental coverage are: First place – Fernanda Landea, a reporter for Television Nacional de Chile. Her compelling science documentary program, “Cazadores de Ciencia,” takes viewers to faraway places such as Mumbai, India, and explains phenomena closer to home such as earthquakes. “The reporter uses interviews with scientists, military officials, children, the elderly and images of nature in southern Chile to recreate events that happened in the past,” Munoz said. “The relevance of the story is enormous and the way in which it is narrated, slowly building the suspense and using a serious, digified tone adds to the impact.” Second place – Lucía Cuozzi, reporter for Agencia Piso Trece Comunicación in Uruguay. Cuozzi’s work offered a well-documented and clearly written account of the challenges of disposing of highly polluting electronics. “Lucia’s stories, which explain complex subjects such as the architecture of sleep, are scientific, written with clarity and based on numerous and credible sources,” Walker said. Third place – Lucas Viano, reporter for the daily newspaper La Voz del Interior in Argentina. Viano’s work touches on themes ranging from a huge telescope to the threatened peperino to local scientists who made an important medical discovery. “The story is relevant because it offers an example of a group of local scientists whose work receives international recognition,” said Munoz. "The story is well written, clear and the narrative is very agile and laced with a fine sense of humor.” Immigrant smugglers take to the high seas as Border Patrol steps up enforcement
LA JOLLA — As Border Patrol agents increase enforcement at the California-Mexico border, smugglers are venturing into the Pacific Ocean to bring immigrants into the United States, Michael Unzueta, Special Agent in Charge of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in San Diego told an audience at the Institute of the Americas. “They’re driving 15-foot pangas (boats) packed with 15 or 16 people all lined up like cordwood, all trying not to fall out of the boat and then the guy driving the boat crashes it onto the beach or crashes it into the rocks in the middle of the night because they don’t know what they’re doing and they don’t have lights and they don’t have safety equipment,” Unzuenta said during his Sept. 16 presentation at the Institute’s Tequila Talk. “Eventually, somebody is going to get hurt and we don’t want to see that happen,” he said. “Nobody wants to see drowned Mexican citizens floating up on any beach, whether it’s in the U.S .or whether it’s in Mexico.” Read more Unzueta heads one of the largest ICE offices in the country – surpassed only by Los Angeles, New York Although the San Diego office covers only two counties -- San Diego and Imperial counties – Unzueta said 60 percent of the border’s population lives in the 150-mile stretch of land from the Pacific Ocean to the California-Arizona border. Smuggling operations have attempted to bring immigrants into California via the Pacific Ocean in the past, but Unzueta said the volume – and the level of risk – have increased significantly in recent months. “We never used to see marine smuggling at the volume that we’re seeing now,” he said. “You might have had somebody cut around the fence down at the border on a surfboard or try and swim for it, or maybe a jet ski, but you didn’t have these pangas of 15 people sitting there hoping that they don’t drown.” Smugglers have increased their fees for trafficking immigrants on the ocean, he said, charging between $3,000 and $5,000 per person. The big payoff has prompted traffickers to turned ocean smuggling into a year-round operation. “We used to have a smuggling period. The smugglers would start off in the late spring and they would go until the fall and then it got cold and they would stop smuggling. Now, we’ll see smuggling event in December, January, February. It’s become a year-round effort that we have to deal with,” he said. In response to the increase in smuggling cases on the high seas, Unzueta said he is establishing a second marine smuggling investigative unit. He is also working with the U.S. Coast Guard to set up a pilot program that will allow ICE agents on board Coast Guard cutters patrolling the San Diego coast. “We’re really trying to deter that type of smuggling,” Unzueta said. “For me, when you talk about alien smuggling, short of putting somebody in the engine compartment of a car or locking somebody up in the back of a tractor trailer, marine smuggling as it pertains to aliens is probably the most dangerous thing that we see. “We’re trying to send a message that if you smuggle aliens in the marine environment you’re going to get prosecuted,” he said.
“They know that the federal system is not geared to prosecuting juvenile offenders. Our culture is one of parenting juveniles, not prosecuting juveniles. So these organizations are luring these juveniles into these smuggling ventures and they’re doing it relatively cheaply.” The smuggling of immigrants and narcotics has raised concerns about murders and kidnappings in the border region. “Are we seeing border violence? From my perspective, the answer is yes, but it’s a qualified yes. Most of what we have seen has been contained in Mexico,” Unzueta said. Chula Vista police have reported 12 cross-border kidnapping cases over the past year, Unzueta said. The victims were in Mexico, but the ransom calls were made to friends and relatives in Chula Vista. Earlier this year, four Chula Vista residents were murdered in Tijuana. And Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas, 30, was shot to death in July east of Campo as he was pursuing a group of people who appeared to be smuggling drugs or immigrants. Still, the border-related crime in San Diego is significantly less than in Tijuana, which reported 843 homicides last year and 405 homicides during the first eight months of this year, he said. “We don’t see that type of violence routinely spilling over into the United States,” Unzueta said. “We don’t see border-related violence coming into our community.” IOA summer workshops attended by 130 Latin American professionals
About 130 professionals from twelve Latin American and Caribbean countries participated in nine summer workshops in La Jolla during 2009 on subjects such as science journalism, public health, freedom of expression and violence against journalists, investigative journalism, pandemics and climate change. The Institute also offered for a third year workshops on the geopolitics of energy, migration policy and innovation against poverty. The Institute’s intensive workshops serve as effective catalysts for professional growth and social change. “We’re happy when our visitors go home with doubts about certitudes they believed when they arrived here,” said Lee Tablewski, director of the Institute’s professional workshops. “They take away a vision of new possibilities from other places that will enrich their work and professional friendships that will breed new collaborations.” Migration Policy Workshop Spotlights Policies of Several Nations
For a third summer, the Institute gathered policy makers, scholars and journalists to discuss migration in their own countries and to study migration in the U.S. with experts offering a wide variety of perspectives. “This year, I was impressed especially with the presentation by our two workshop participants from Ecuador of its problematic, progress and possible solutions to address its outflow of citizens and inflow of foreigners and, more recently, returning migrants,” said workshop director Isabel Escalle. Sonia García Alvarado, an advisor to the assistant secretary of foreign relations for migratory affairs, and Mónica Maldonado Aguirre, a scholar at the Centro de Planificación y Estudios Sociales (CEPLAES), a highly respected think tank in Quito, represented Ecuador. Their participation was made possible by a grant from the Andean Development Bank (CAF). The workshop had one bittersweet highlight: it opened with the final talk before his retirement by the eminent scholar of migration, Dr. Wayne Cornelius, the founder of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies and the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies, both at UCSD. Other highlights included conversations with Cecilia Romero Castillo, the commissioner of Mexico’s National Migration Institute; human rights advocate Víctor Clark Alfaro and Lilia Velásquez, the migration attorney known as “The Flame of Justice” for her vigorous defense of migrant rights. The workshop included a private tour of the San Ysidro Port of Entry at the border with Tijuana to understand the point of view of those tasked with enforcing U.S. migration laws. According to Isabel Escalle, “Our participants were extremely knowledgeable but I was surprised that even they had misconceptions about how migration is dealt with in the U.S.” Workshop on Innovative Anti-Poverty Strategies Builds Bridges
Rochelle’s presentation was followed by a talk with Manuel José Moreno, the business development manager of Artesanías de Colombia, the Government of Colombia’s highly innovative initiative to build brands, foster training and improve the lives of its many artisans. Both continue to exchange ideas and plans after the workshop. The representation from Peru was particularly strong. Hernázaro Cabello, a senior manager from the government agency to fund innovation against poverty (FUNCODES), offered insights from his experience to help participants from other countries with their problems. The challenge of finding alternative sources of economic development in the Puno region, beyond the raising of alpacas, was discussed by Santos Senón Choquehuanca, whose participation was supported by the U.S. Embassy in Peru. Israel Moreno Barceló, founder and general manager of Patrimonio Hoy for CEMEX, a progressive housing program serving low-income communities, promised potential replication of the program in other countries where CEMEX operates and where the socio-economic conditions could make possible its financial viability. Miguel San Juan, U.S. Executive Director at the Inter-American Development Bank, encouraged attendees to share with him successful case studies of poverty alleviation initiatives, something he said that development bank leaders don’t see frequently enough. For a second year, María Elisa Bernal, founder of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s “Social Innovation” competition, closed the workshop with an uplifting presentation on cases of marginalized women who have changed the lives of their communities. Field trips included a visit to the International Community Foundation to discuss the outlook for private philanthropy for pro-poor projects, and a tour of Chicano Park with a young artist responsible for one of the most recent and moving murals painted on the concrete bridge piers that cut across San Diego’s historic Barrio Logan. The participants also attended a San Diego Padres baseball game. Group discussion and strategic exercises formed a central part of the workshop. They were lead by Maria Aurora Garza of Fundación para la Protección de la Niñez and workshop co-organizer Denisse Fernandez of UCSD. Commitment to Press Freedom Central to Investigative Journalism Workshop
Eighteen seasoned journalists from nine countries attended the workshop. They spoke eloquently and at great length during daily sessions about the need for freedom of expression in their countries. During a final session, the journalists from Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Mexico resolved to pursue investigative stories despite the obstacles they often face. Institute Vice President S. Lynne Walker called upon her 33 years of experience as a journalist and assembled an experienced lineup of instructors. Catalina Botero, the OAS Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, conducted a daylong workshop on international guarantees for reporters in the region. Eduardo Garcia, founder of the Mexico City-based web site Sentidocomun.com.mx conducted a session on financial investigations and “interviewing the numbers” to find critical information for stories that is tucked away in statistical data. Speakers at the workshop included a homicide detective from Baja California who talked about conducting a murder investigation. Frank Smyth, adjunct professor of journalism at American University in Washington, D.C., and the Journalist Security Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, spoke about safeguards for journalists conducting investigations in Latin American countries. Leslie Berestein, immigration reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune and former investigative reporter at People Magazine, conducted a session on investigative reporting on a competitive breaking story like the Columbine massacre. Walker led a session on organized crime investigations. A highlight of the workshop was a reporting trip to Tijuana lead by Walker. |
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the drug war.
But “there must be results, there must be a weakening (of the cartels) because the danger and the concern is that there would be a new accommodation in a post-Calderon setting. The objective here is to weaken the cartels to the point where that is not even conceivable.”
LA JOLLA — As the United States and its neighbors in the Western Hemisphere prepare for the next wave of A/H1N1 influenza, a top physician with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the virus is less lethal than doctors and researchers believed during the April-May outbreak.
and Miami and, on occasion by San Antonio. ICE, which was formed after the 9/11 tragedy, is the largest investigative agency within the Department of Homeland Security.
As ICE agents pursue immigrant smugglers on the high seas, they have seen an increase in the number of juvenile traffickers working international drug trafficking organizations on the California-Mexico border, Unzueta said. “We know that in San Diego and Imperial counties the drug organizations are actively recruiting juveniles,” he said.
The highlight of the poverty workshop again for a second year was the presentation by Dr. Rochelle Beck, a Harvard-trained Ph.D. who grew up as a socialist in New York but became a capitalist in the Andes mountains by necessity. Her presentation, “Seven Tricks They Don’t Tell You for how to Compete in the Global Marketplace,” shared what she had learned in helping thousands of poor artisans become sustainable micro-entrepreneurs over two decades.
Perhaps the most popular of the workshops launched during 2009 was the program on investigative journalism.Workshops Events
