Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Daniel Chavez Moran: Opening Doors to the Future

Daniel Chavez Moran eagerly awaits the announcement of the winners of the 2011 Vidanta Foundation Prize for "Contributions to the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean." A jury meeting on August 26th in Cancun, Mexico, will select first, second and third place winners from among the more than 200 nominations received.

The annual Vidanta Foundation Prize is a joint initiative by the Organization of American States (OAS), the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) and the Vidanta Foundation, the nonprofit organization founded by retired businessman and philanthropist Daniel Jesus Chavez Moran.

Its aim is to provide recognition and support for outstanding projects carried out in Latin America and the Caribbean. The prize helps open the doors to the future, with a first place award of $100,000; a second of $75,000; and a third, $50,000.

Here are excerpts from last year’s announcement by OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza:

October 15, 2010: The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, presented the prizes of the Grupo Vidanta Foundation to the Mundo Mujer Foundation, of Colombia, to the Chilean organization Un Techo para Chile and to Comunidades de la Tierra, of Guatemala, for the work these organizations carry out to fight poverty in the region.
In a ceremony held in the Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City, Secretary General Insulza highlighted the value of the efforts of these organizations, which structure their activities around issues related to poverty. The head of the OAS praised the work of the winners in influencing the elaboration of public policies that fight the causes of underdevelopment and for creating awareness of the negative social effects of inequality and discrimination. 
..."I wish to recognize the talent of our people and the importance of taking advantage of it to benefit others,” Secretary General Insulza said. He added that the prize is given at a time when poverty rates in the region have fallen in recent years, and when despite the crisis Latin America and the Caribbean have persevered. “The reason for this has to do with public policies and with economic growth, but above all with initiatives like those undertaken by these groups, intended to fight poverty.”

Friday, August 26, 2011

Daniel Chavez Moran on Foundation Advisor Dr. Jorge I. Domínguez

Daniel Chavez Moran on Foundation advisor Dr. Jorge I. Domínguez.
Founded by philanthropist Daniel Chavez Moran, the Vidanta Foundation is a non-profit institution focused on the promotion of Latin American studies, and the analysis of Latin American international relations and strategies for a positive integration of the region in the global economy.

Along with Dr. Roberto Russell, president of the Vidanta Foundation who was recently appointed to the advisory board of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, an equally esteemed advisory committee helps to guide the work of the Foundation.

The committee includes Dr. Jorge I. Domínguez, the Antonio Madero Professor for the Study of Mexico, vice provost for international affairs, special advisor for international studies to the dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, and chairman of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies at Harvard University.

His current interests center on comparative politics and international relations in Latin America, United States-Latin America and United States-Mexico relations and issues relating to public opinion and democracy in Mexico.

Along with numerous awards, distinctions and publications, among notable recent works is “Contemporary U.S.-Latín American Relations. Cooperation or Conflict in the 21st Century,” edited by Dr. Domínguez and Rafael Fernández de Castro. This book, from a project funded by the Vidanta Foundation, brings together a collection of essays on the relations of various countries in the region with the U.S. in the last decade.

Related posts: Philanthropist and retired businessman Daniel Chavez Moran on the path to Mexico's future and Daniel Chavez Moran on the affiliated institutions of the Vidanta Foundation.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Daniel Chavez Moran: Rising Retail Sales

Daniel Chavez Moran on rising retail sales in Latin America.
An accomplished businessman and entrepreneur from Mexico, the now retired Daniel Chavez Moran built his businesses with a reputation for service and a skill for responding to marketplace opportunities. Chavez Moran read this retail news in the Wall Street Journal with interest for the growth opportunity it shows for Latin America in the global retail market.

Adidas Sees Latin America Helping It Meet 2015 Sales Target

BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)--German sportswear company Adidas AG (ADS.XE, ADDYY) hopes to ride its ubiquitous brand to sharply higher sales over the next five years as it piggybacks on improving lifestyles and rising disposable income in emerging markets like Latin America.

Adidas is the world's second-largest maker of sports goods by revenue after Nike Inc. (NKE), and is synonymous with soccer across much of the world.

The company is on track to meet its target to increase net profit 10% to 15% this year amid steady growth in sales, Chief Executive Herbert Hainer said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires on Thursday.

Adidas has plans to increase its total sales 42% to 17 billion euros ($24 billion) by 2015, from EUR12 billion last year, Hainer said.

Today, Latin America accounts for about EUR1.3 billion, or 10%, of its annual sales. While its operations are growing worldwide, the company expects brisk sales to continue in Latin America thanks to rising incomes in the soccer-mad countries.

Adidas has enjoyed eight years of double-digit sales growth in the region, said Charlie Maurath, head of Adidas Latin America, at a press conference. The pace has been even higher in Argentina, where sales have grown at an annual rate of about 25% in the last few years, said Walter Koll, the director of Argentina operations.

Philanthropist Daniel Chavez Moran, through his work with the Vidanta Foundation, studies the challenges and opportunities faced by the nations of Latin America in the 21st century global economy. Related posts: Daniel Chavez Moran on Latin America's fast-growing retail market and Daniel Chavez Moran on Latin America’s decade of growth.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Daniel Chavez Moran on Democratic Progress in Latin America

Daniel Chavez Moran on democratic progress in Latin America.
Strengthening democracy and promoting economic and social development to reduce poverty and social inequality in Latin America are two of the aims of the Vidanta Foundation, founded by Daniel Chavez Moran.

Chavez Moran is pleased the United States Senate recently recognized democratic progress in Latin America at a Foreign Relations Committee panel hearing chaired by Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey.

Experts testified that Latin America as a whole is more democratic today than it has ever been in the past. More citizens are participating in government as there is a broader acceptance of elections as the way to transfer power.

Roberta Jacobson, U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, testified:

“Mr. Chairman, I have heard you highlight the important success many societies in Latin America and the Caribbean are enjoying today. We share your assessment. That success is measureable in very tangible ways: in rising levels of political and personal freedom, greater economic prosperity, and increasing global integration. These factors work together in remarkable synergy. They generate vast opportunity. They strengthen institutions. They have helped lift scores of millions of people out of poverty in the last decade—and in the process brought forth huge new pools of talent and energy that are literally transforming very diverse countries. It is difficult to imagine this happening without the consolidation of democratic and market societies in most of Latin America and the strengthening of democratic institutions in much of the Caribbean over the last two decades.”

Whether in his earlier business dealings or in his founding of the Vidanta Foundation, Daniel Chavez Moran has hoped to inspire others to dream more, to learn more and to be more.

Related posts: Philanthropist Daniel Chavez Moran on U.S.-Latin American relations and Daniel Chavez Moran announces Vidanta Foundation Prize entries.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Daniel Chavez Moran: On Sustainable Development

Daniel Chavez Moran on sustainable development.
Daniel Chavez Moran is now retired, but he remains committed to environmental stewardship. Throughout his career prior to his 2005 retirement, Daniel Chavez Moran invested heavily in sustainable economic development and resource conservation as a developer of five-star hotels, resorts and golf courses across Mexico and Latin America.

Daniel Chavez Moran is pleased to learn of plans for Earth Summit 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be hosted in Rio de Janeiro in June of 2012.

According to Earth Summit 2012 organizers, the objectives of the Summit are:

To secure renewed political commitment to sustainable development; to assess progress towards internationally agreed goals on sustainable development and to address new and emerging challenges. The Summit will also focus on two specific themes: a green economy in the context of poverty eradication and sustainable development, and an institutional framework for sustainable development.

The summit will be attended by politicians and heads of state/heads of government from member countries as well as officials from member countries and international institutions.

...The world is facing a mounting crisis. In recent years we have experienced a combination of a global financial crisis, a food crisis, volatile oil prices, accelerating ecosystem degradation and an increasing number of climate-induced extreme weather events. These multiple and inter-related crises call into question the ability of a growing human population to live peacefully and sustainably on this planet, and demand the urgent attention governments and citizens around the world.

Earth Summit 2012 will be the fourth Summit of its kind and represents another milestone in ongoing international efforts to accelerate progress towards achieving sustainable development globally.

Read more about Daniel Chavez Moran's guide to saving natural resources and the work of the Vidanta Foundation to improve the quality of life for the people of Latin America.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Daniel Chavez Moran: Economic Outlook for 2011

Daniel Chavez Moran on the economic outlook for 2011 in Latin America.
As a young man in Mexico with a degree in civil engineering from the Universidad de Guadalajara in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Daniel Chavez Moran dreamt of building a successful international business. Three decades later, Chavez Moran is now retired, having successfully developed five-star hotels and resorts, golf courses, vacation ownership resorts and tourism infrastructure throughout Latin America. His passion and interest in economic and social development continues through his philanthropic work with the non-profit Vidanta Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to promote scholarship in the social sciences and culture, to promote intra-Latin America relations, and to influence the formulation of public policies that strengthen democracy and economic sustainability for the future of Latin America.

Chavez Moran follows international economic trends and notes this recent analysis of the debt crisis now facing the United States as published by Reuters news service:

Role reversal: Latin America taunts U.S. on debt woes

(Reuters) - After three decades spent battling their own debt crises and getting constantly lectured about them by Uncle Sam, many Latin Americans are watching the countdown to a possible default in Washington with a mix of schadenfreude and fear of what a collapse might mean for them.

For everybody from presidents on down to street vendors, seeing U.S. politicians argue over where to make painful budget cuts has also been a reminder that those days are over in Latin America. For now, at least, as most of the region enjoys an era of economic prosperity and comparatively tiny deficits.

...These days, Latin America's economy as a whole is expected to expand about 4.7 percent in 2011 -- almost twice the expected rate in the United States -- thanks to strong demand for the region's commodities and a decade of mostly prudent fiscal management, itself the product of many hard-learned lessons of the past.

Related posts: Daniel Chavez Moran on partnering for progress and Daniel Chavez Moran on the path to Mexico's future.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Daniel Chavez Moran: Market News in Latin America

Understanding that inter-American cooperation is critical for Latin America’s success in a global economy, philanthropist Daniel Chavez Moran notes this recent market news published in the Wall Street Journal about Brazil’s and Colombia’s stock and future exchanges signing a partnership accord:

"Brazil's BM&FBOVESPA (BVMF3.BR), which runs Brazil's main stock and futures exchange, and its Colombia counterpart signed a memorandum of understanding in order to evaluate alternatives focused on a possible interconnection of their equities, fixed income and derivatives markets to promote the development of the capital markets," BM&FBOVESPA said over the weekend.  
"With the signature of a memorandum of understanding, the two exchanges are keen on starting an exploration phase, that will establish a plan that would make feasible the interconnection of securities trading platforms in both countries, which allows the bid and ask order routing," said BM&FBovespa.  
"The purpose is to explore the benefits and value opportunities in both markets and this is the first step of the process; the modalities and the date for the happening of the interconnection will be discussed and established by the exchanges in the future," it added.

Daniel Chavez Moran founded a conglomerate of companies that actively participated in the socioeconomic development of Mexico and Latin America through the strategic development and construction of new tourist destinations, hotel operations, urban infrastructure, roadways, real estate developments and a new international airport. Though now retired, Chavez Moran now dedicates his time to his family and the philanthropic work of the Vidanta Foundation to help create a sustainable economic future for the 580 million people of Latin America. Read more about the work of Daniel Chavez Moran.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Chavez Moran: About International Studies

Until his official retirement in 2005, Daniel Chavez Moran worked for over three decades to make his business dreams come true.  In founding the non-profit Vidanta Foundation, Chavez Moran continues to make a difference in the lives of the people of Latin America with his support of economic and social development projects and causes. 

The Vidanta Foundation hosts international seminars and conferences; awards prizes in recognition and support of outstanding projects in Latin America and the Caribbean to reduce poverty, inequality and discrimination; and publishes scholarly works on public policies that support economic growth and strengthening democracy.

Among the Foundation’s affiliated institutions is the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.

From the school’s website:

Seven Decades of Educating Global Leaders

SAIS has always looked to the future. When the school was founded in 1943, World War II raged in Europe and Asia. But a group of visionaries —led by statesmen Christian A. Herter and Paul H. Nitze—foresaw the need for a graduate school that would prepare young men and women to assume responsibilities in the postwar world. In today’s post-9/11 era, the challenges are enormous and unprecedented. Yet SAIS’s mission is more relevant than ever: to train the next generation of leaders in the global arena. 
A division of The Johns Hopkins University since 1950, SAIS is truly an international institution, with campuses in Washington, D.C., Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China, that draw students from throughout the world. Unique among its peers, SAIS provides the opportunity for students to take advantage of all three campuses during their graduate experience—designing a degree program based on individual academic and professional interests. 
SAIS offers the building blocks of leadership in all professional fields: core functional disciplines, such as strategic studies and international development; strong emphasis on international economics; robust regional programs; and essential foreign language training.

Daniel Chavez Moran salutes all of the internationally recognized institutions supporting the efforts of the Vidanta Foundation. For more on Daniel Chavez Moran, the Vidanta Foundation and its affiliated institutions, read here.  

Monday, August 1, 2011

Daniel Chavez Moran On Latin America's Decade for Growth

Daniel Chavez Moran notes this interesting blog post from Mauricio Cárdenas, Director of the Latin America Initiative at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.:

“Historically, experts have often characterized Latin America as a region with poor economic features: hyperinflation, fiscal populism, and costly industrial policies rife with corruption are just a few examples. However, experts are beginning to change their tune. In fact, many analysts are referring to the 2010s as Latin America’s decade. Last year, The Economist ran a special report, where the magazine turned the hemispheric map upside-down under the label ‘Nobody’s Backyard,’ suggesting that the region had learned from its previous mistakes and is entering a brighter phase. Although predicting the future is always dangerous, especially in a place where so many booms have ended in severe crises, the argument that Latin America is entering a decade of considerable opportunity does have merit.”

Cárdenas offers three interconnected reasons to make this point: The changing demographics of Latin America, the economic growth of China as a trading partner, and trends in global savings and liquidity. 

And he continues: “Whether Latin America can seize the moment and take advantage of this extraordinary chance to speed-up prosperity is still an open question. What is certain though is that there is no time for complacency or self-gratification...If Latin American leaders focus on this task ahead, this will be a transformational decade indeed. Otherwise, it will simply be another cycle of high and unsustainable consumption, a wasted opportunity of which the region has seen plenty in the past.”

Helping to address and resolve the economic and social development challenges faced by the nations and people of Latin America is what Daniel Chavez Moran focuses his philanthropy on through the nonprofit Vidanta Foundation he founded in 2005. Read more here about Daniel Chavez Moran and how the Foundation supports the integration of Latin America with the rest of the world through the strengthening of democracy and economic opportunity.