Alejandro Toledo Briefs Latin Leaders on New Initiative

Former Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo, who recently established the Global Center for Development and Democracy (GCDD) with seed funding from NED, met on November 26 in Washington with six former heads of state to discuss the mission of his new organization, which aims to forge a new social agenda for Latin America. President Toledo was joined by Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar from Spain, President Vicente Fox from Mexico, President Carlos Mesa from Bolivia, President Ricardo Maduro from Honduras, and President Rodrigo Carazo from Costa Rica, as well as Secretary-General of the Organization of American States Jose Miguel Insulza and José Ignacio Salafranca from the European Parliament.

The meeting of regional political leaders was preceded by a similar briefing for the Washington policy community. Toledo explained that the GCDD is working to establish itself as leading regional initiative to construct a new consensus addressing the key and intertwined issues of democracy, economic growth and social inclusion. To ensure that democratic systems deliver on key public services and adequately address income inequality and exclusion, GCDD is bringing together democracy activists, former presidents, labor, business and civil society leaders to facilitate a dialogue on the components and implementation strategies for this agenda. GCDD is currently planning a second preparatory meeting in Latin America and a large conference for May 2008 in Lima, Peru, where it will officially launch its new social agenda for the region.