NDN Latin American Policy Initiative - Meeting with Ambassador Gallegos Chiriboga and U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel

NDN is proud to announce the launch of the Latin American Policy Initiative (LAPI). This will include a monthly luncheon series that will feature Members of Congress, Ambassadors from Latin America, and other key policy experts. Each luncheon will focus on a single country and explore opportunities to increase understanding of the bilateral relationships that the United States shares with each country. Our next luncheon will be on Wednesday, June 18^th from 12:00pm-1:30 pm in Room 1116 of the Longworth House Office Building and will focus on Ecuador. Please join NDN, Hon. Luis Benigno Gallegos Chiriboga, Ambassador of Ecuador to the U.S., and U.S. Representative Eliot Engel as we continue this exciting new effort. For more information, please contact Andres Ramirez via email at aramirez@ndn.org or phone at 202-544-9200.

Background on LAPI

For years, NDN has been making the case that America is undergoing the most radical demographic transformation in its history. The rise of the domestic Hispanic population has brought about a New Politics in America. To help explain this, NDN and its team have conducted hundreds of briefings on the power of the emerging Hispanic community; and we've used Spanish-language media campaigns and press coverage to continue the discussion on what is such an important development in American politics.

Part of our analysis is that we must encourage our elected officials to engage in hemispheric relations more than they have in the past. The rising U.S. Hispanic population requires it, especially since our relationship with Latin America is becoming increasingly important for our domestic policy. That is why NDN began an effort to better discuss the importance of U.S.-Latin American relations. We heard from Governor Bill Richardson, who delivered a major foreign policy speech on ways to improve our relations with Latin America; and we convened an incredibly important forum on what a Post-Castro Cuba would look like.

We are excited to announce a new endeavor along these lines. We are launching a series of events focusing on the future of U.S.-Latin American relations. These events will focus on a different country each month, and work to establish an ongoing dialogue and research to better inform those interested in Latin American policy.