Interamerican Institute for Democracy
The Fund for American Studies
Masters in Counseling and Consulting Image Politics (Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca)
2nd INTERAMERICAN ESSAY CONTEST
“GERARD LE CHEVALLIER”
THEME: “POLITICAL USE OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM”
The Interamerican Institute for Democracy is a non-profit organization created to promote liberty, democracy and institutionalism in Latin America.
The Fund for American Studies is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1967 in Washington, DC, with the objective to promote the preparation of youth for leadership, promoting the ideas of freedom and a free market economy.
The Masters in Counseling and Consulting Image Politics (MAICOP) is offered by Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, with complementary courses in Buenos Aires, Miami and Washington.
With those purposes in mind, these three institutions invite the youth of the Americas to participate in our second Essay Contest as an opportunity to analyze and reflect the work and functions of our countries’ institutions.
The contest name honors GERARD LE CHEVALLIER; promoter, advocate, and leader of liberty and Democracy in the Americas.
TOPIC
The topic of the essay is:
“POLITICAL USE OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM”
....And the winners are!:
Habiendo finalizado la tarea del jurado evaluador de los ensayos presentados al Segundo Concurso Interamericano de Ensayo "Gerardo Le Chevalier", que versó sobre el tema "Utilización política de la Justicia", y de acuerdo con lo dictaminado, se da a conocer el siguiente resultado.
El primer premio es otorgado a Juan Manuel González Rossi, de la República Oriental del Uruguay, por su ensayo "La independencia del Poder Judicial en América Latina: entre la debilidad institucional y la preservación de las libertades".
El segundo premio es otorgado a Patricia TarreMoser, de Venezuela, por su ensayo "La realidad e impresión de la independencia del Porder Judicial venezolano".
Tal como establecen las bases del concurso, el ganador del primer premio se hace acreedor a un viaje de una semana a los Estados Unidos, con los gastos pagos, mil dólares ($1,000) en efectivo y Quinientos dólares ($500) en libros para la institución académica que representa. El segundo premio recibirá mil dólares, en efectivo.
Los premios en efectivo serán depositados en las cuentas bancarias suministradas por los premiados o enviados por cheque.
A ambos premiados, les solicitamos la revisión y edición final de os textos antes de ser enviados al Fondo Editorial para su publicación, en un plazo máximo de 15 días hábiles del día de la fecha.
En el caso del primer premio, el Instituto necesita saber el estado de la visa para proceder a la instrumentación del viaje.
GERARD LE CHEVALLIER
“Citizen of Democracy”
The life and democracy work of Gerard Le Chevallier, NDI's former director of Latin America and Caribbean programs and country director for Haiti, was celebrated March 8 at a memorial held at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, DC. Mr. Le Chevallier, 56, was serving as the head of the political affairs and elections units within the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti and died in the collapse of the UN headquarters building in Port-au-Prince during the earthquake in January.
A number of speakers remember Mr. Le Chevallier as an internationalist who loved life and lived it passionately and to the fullest. “Gerardo was a citizen of democracy,” said José Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the OAS. “Nothing could make him happier than the magic of democracy working.”
“He always saw the redemptive quality in people,” said Arturo Valenzuela, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs. “It was a redemptive quality that was rooted in the enormous belief in the power of democracy.”
Kenneth Wollack, president of NDI, called Mr. Le Chevallier, “the optimist.” He loved life and lived it to the fullest. And he was a passionate player on the democratic political stage. “He was exactly where he wanted to be, doing exactly what he wanted to do, immerse in Haiti, democracy and politics,” Wollack said.
Other speakers included Santiago Cantón, executive secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States; Raymond Alcide Joseph, ambassador of Haiti to the United States; Luis Menéndez, representative of El Salvador to the OAS; William Davis, director, United National Information Center in Washington, DC; and Nicole Le Chevallier, daughter of Mr. Le Chevallier.
A native of El Salvador, Mr. Le Chevallier was at the time of his death head of the political affairs and election units of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti. He spent 10 years at NDI, first as resident director in Haiti, Paraguay and Bosnia, and finally as director for Latin America and Caribbean programs. Prior to his formal employment with NDI, he served on an NDI observer delegation to the historic 1989 elections in Chile.
“Gerardo believed in the adage that you can’t be detached and be effective,” NDI said in a remembrance statement. “He moved comfortably among heads of state and sat at the negotiating table during high-level political talks. At the same time, he had a following among young people who saw in him a friend and mentor – someone they could learn from and who could positively change their outlook on life.
“Gerardo was always the optimist, with a deep and abiding belief in a common humanity – in the democratic aspirations of all people. We will always honor Gerardo’s vision and his courage, commitment and accomplishments.”
Published March 11, 2010 by RED DE PARTIDOS POLÍTICOS (redpartidos.org)
