Day 2:
The second day of the conference began with a breakfast conversation between Dr. Tom Palmer (Atlas Network, United States) and Carlos Newland (Universidad Católica Argentina, Argentina). They spoke about how to measure appreciation of market principles and to use such knowledge to guide reform efforts.
After breakfast, the first breakout session for the day began. Frank Zimmerman (Federalismo y Libertad, Argentina) moderated a discussion between Dr. Carlos E. Diaz-Rosillo (Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom, United States), Gloria Alvarez (independent author and speaker, Guatemala), Rocio Guijarro (CEDICE Libertad, Venezuela), and Carlos Luna (contemporary artist, United States). They spoke about how Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua are struggling under tyrannical political systems and are lacking freedoms the citizens naturally have a right to. These experts shared the tales of their struggles as they work to bring back liberty to the region. Session eight began with Sary Levy-Carciente (CEDICE Libertad, Venezuela) moderating a conversation between María José Bernal (Fenalco Antioquia, Colombia), Manuel Molano (Economist, Mexico), Luis Loría (IDEASLabs, Costa Rica), and Lucas Berlanza (Instituto Liberal, Brazil). These experts explained that government regulations in all areas of economic activity can lead to confusing and burdensome business situations and create the danger of empowering bureaucrats with the power to dictate daily life.
Before lunch, there were two more concurrent sessions beginning with a conversation on Brazil’s liberty movement. The Brazilian experts discussed the increase in liberty throughout the past couple years and the future they are continuing to work towards. Contributing speakers were Milla Maia (Instituto Millenium, Brazil), Dr. Adriano Paraibana (Instituto Mises, Brazil), Nycollas Liberato (Students for Liberty, Brazil), with the conversation moderated by Hane Crevelari. While this session was occurring, there was a different option offered. The simultaneous session was on innovative ideas to promote liberty and sound policy in Latin America. The conversation was hosted by Lorenzo Montanari (Property Rights Alliance, United States). The speakers were Bettina Horst (Fundación Libertad y Desarrollo, Chile), María Clara Escobar (Fundación Instituto de Ciencia Política Hernán Echavarría Olózaga, Colombia), and Mariana Campos (México Evalúa, Mexico).
The Think Tank Shark Tank lunch began with a pitch from Valeria Peralta Albanez (Fundación Salvadoreña para el Desarrollo Económico y Social, El Salvador) who posed the “Citizenship Academy.” This is a 12-hour course she has designed to educate and train low-income El Salvadoran students on civics and the value of democratic governance. Albanez was followed by Jesús Armas (Ciudadanía Sin Límites, Venezuela) who proposed his project to oppose the Venezuelan dictator Maduro and his party against moving the country towards a Soviet-inspired model of government. He plans to build a network of organizations designed to reject this government model aiming to reach government leaders and various civil society organizations. The final contestant, Edwin Zarco Nieva (Centro de Investigación, Peru), pitched his project, which is a training program aimed to prepare enterprising individuals to take their ideas to market. He wants to advance free-market conservation efforts and inspire entrepreneurship with this project. After much discussion, the judges decided to award the US$10,000 prize to Nieva.
After the luncheon, the conference capped off with three last sessions. Cody Marx Bailey (private investor, United States and Mexico) moderated a conversation between Armando Régil (IPEA, Mexico) and Luis Loría (IDEASLabs, Costa Rica). They discussed the role of technology and innovation in the liberty movement. Session 12 featured Dean Ball (Manhattan Institute, United States) who moderated a conversation on police reform in Latin America. José Miguel Aldunate Huidobro (Observatorio Judicial, Chile), Magno Karl (Associação Livres, Brasil), and Gerardo Bongiovanni (Fundación Libertad, Argentina) discussed the failure of the police in many Latin American countries and the need to revive faith and trust in law enforcement officers. The final session was a presentation by Terry Kibbe (Free the People, United States) and Carlos and Claudia Luna (contemporary artist, United States) on Carlo’s book, A Free Life, that tells the story of his journey to finding liberty. The session summarized the conference well, leaving everyone with a clear understanding and reminder of the purpose of the liberty movement: to affect every person’s life for the better with improved freedoms and rights.
For more highlights from the 2022 Latin America Liberty Forum check out our social media feeds, and make sure to join us at the 2022 Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner on November 16–17!