Fundacion Grupo Mayan

Fundacion Grupo Mayan, (aka Fundacion Chavez Moran and Fundacion Mayan) is a non profit organization with the principal objective of promoting science and culture for the greater good. More specifically it has held two conferences bringing together an unprecedented high-level of politicians for one single event. Both events, the 2004 Buenos Aires and the 2007 Mexico City events were focused on improving the economy and bridging the economic income gap. Several renowned historians, economists, ex presidents, governors, and writers participated in these events, which were widely publicized in Latin America. Roberto Russel is the president of this foundation. [ [http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=842997 La Nacion Press Release] ] [ [http://www.fundaciongrupomayan.com Fundacion Grupo Mayan Official Site] ]

Mission

Fundacion Grupo Mayan, aka Fundacion Mayan by Grupo Mayan, has the sole mission of promoting science and culture for the greater good. [ [http://grupomayan.com/corporate-information.html Grupo Mayan Official Site reference to Fundacion Grupo Mayan] ]

Purpose

To generate and diffuse knowledge over the different factors causing a development gap, social, political, and economical, between First World countries and Latin America.

To promote studies and inter-relations between Latin American nations themselves, as well as inter-relations with the rest of the world.

To actively influence the formulation of public policy in order to strengthen democracy, and to promote economic, social, and political development in Latin America; diminishing economic inequality.

Financing

Fundacion Grupo Mayan is financed in its entirety by several stock holders of Grupo Mayan, a company dedicated to construction, hotel management, and real estate; operating under the brands The Grand Mayan, Mayan Palace, Sea Garden, and Mayan Island.

2005 Buenos Aires Conference

“Explaining the Gap between Latin America and the United States,” held a conference organized by Universidad Torcuato di Tella and Fundación Chavez Moran, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 10-11, 2005. [ [http://homepages.nyu.edu/~acc250/ NYU Study Article] ] This was to discuss the development gap between First World nations and Latin America. [ [http://www.fundaciongrupomayan.com/new/seminarios/s_01bue05/index.html List of seminaries held by Fundacion Grupo Mayan] ] . Some recognized speakers in the event included renowned scholars and economists, ivy league professors, famous historians, ex presidents, and public policy makers, such as Ernesto Zedillo, Julio María Sanguinetti Hernando de Soto, Francis Fukuyama, Enrique Krauze, and Celso Lafer. In August 2008, the Oxford University Press published the book "Falling Behind: Explaining the Development Gap between the United States and Latin America" by Francis Fukuyama, which was a direct result of an investigation on this topic financed, organized, and researched in the Buenos Aires event by Fundacion Grupo Mayan. [ [http://www.sais-jhu.edu/faculty/fukuyama/Books.html Johns Hopkins University Faculty Books] ] He said in his book "I owe thanks to everyone who played a role in the completion of this volume, especially Fundacion Grupo Mayan." [cite book
last = Fukuyama
first = Francis
year = 2008
title = Falling Behind, Explaining the Development Gap Between Latin America and the United States
publisher = Oxford University Press
location = New York
isbn = 0195368827
page = acknowledgements] [http://www.sais-jhu.edu/faculty/fukuyama/Books.html] [ [http://www.fundaciongrupomayan.com/new/publicaciones.html List of newspaper articles published regarding Fundacion Grupo Mayan events] ] . Additionally, this book was also published in spanish [http://fas.nyu.edu/docs/IO/2800/BA_paper_es.pdf] and added to several libraries in different american universities as important material in the economic inequality topics in Latin America. [http://library.georgetown.edu/newmaterials/archive/may2007/business.htm] This event was held in the a Buenos Aires university called Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. [http://www.fundaciongrupomayan.com/new/seminarios/s_01bue05/index.html]

2007 Mexico City Conference

In 2007, Fundacion Grupo Mayan, in conjunction with ITAM and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, held a conference in Mexico City to discuss the topic "Fragmentation or Integration?". The conference was widely publicized in Mexico and included over a dozen speakers comprised of scholars, ambassadors, politicians, historians, economists, and more. [http://sinergiari.wordpress.com/2007/04/03/seminario-internacional-america-latina/] [http://www.fundaciongrupomayan.com/new/seminarios/s_06mex07_03/index.html] World famous speakers included Mario Vargas Llosa, Julio María Sanguinetti and Ricardo Lagos. [http://www.fundaciongrupomayan.com/new/medios/abr07/1204/05.pdf]

An article published in the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars said the following about the Mexico City event:

It was one of the most distinguished gatherings of public intellectuals in recent Latin American history, diplomats, scholars, government officials, novelists, representatives of international financial institutions and non-governmental organizations came together in Mexico City on April 17-18, 2007, for the conference “Latin America:Integration or Fragmentation?”

[ [http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/NOTICIAS_Fall2007.pdf Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies press] ]

The Argentine newspaper Clarín, awarded the Eikon Award to the organizer of the conference enabled by this Foundation.

Arturo Fernandez Perez, director of ITAM opened the ceremony with his welcoming speech. [http://www.archive.org/details/Noticias_nacionales_del_18_de_abril_de_2007]

Mario Vargas Llosa published a paper titled "Latin America: Unity and Dispersion" to address the topics discussed in Grupo Mayan's Fundacion Grupo Mayan Event in 2007. [http://www.fundaciongrupomayan.com/new/ponencias/ponencias02.pdf] [ [http://www.mvargasllosa.com/crono.htm Mario Vargas Llosa Official Site] ]

Ricardo Lagos, ex president of Chile, published a paper titled "Integration or Fragmentation of Latin America" addressing the issues raised in the Fundacion Grupo Mayan Mexico City event. [http://www.fundaciongrupomayan.com/new/ponencias/ponencias04.pdf]

Julio María Sanguinetti, ex president of Uruguay, published a paper titled "The Latin American Gap" as a direct result of this Fundacion Grupo Mayan event. [http://www.fundaciongrupomayan.com/new/ponencias/ponencias10.pdf]

Eric Hobsbawm, a renowned British Marxist historian attended the conference via video conference. [http://www.letraslibres.com/index.php?art=13083]

Celso Lafer, also was a commentator in the conference. [http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.jsp?id=K4763932Y4&tipo=completo]

Marcelo Ebrard, chief of Government for Mexico City, concluded the event with a closing speech. [ [http://www.pa.gob.mx/Noticias/2007/abril/041807.htm Procuraduria Agraria Site] ]

Affiliated Institutions

* Centro de Estudios sobre Ciencia, Desarrollo y Educación Superior (REDES), Argentina.
* Centro de Investigaciones y de Docencia Económicas (CIDE), México
* Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe / Oficina de Buenos Aires, Argentina
* Foreign Affairs Latinoamérica, México
* Fundación Democracia y Desarrollo, Chile
* Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México ITAM, México
* Organización de los Estados Americanos OEA
* Secretaria General Iberoamericana (SEGIB)
* Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, United States
* The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, United States
* Universidad Externado de Colombia, Colombia
* Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Argentina
* Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, United States

External Links

* [http://www.grupomayan.com Grupo Mayan Official Site]
* [http://www.fundaciongrupomayan.com Fundacion Grupo Mayan Official Site]
* [http://grupomayan.com/corporate-information.html Grupo Mayan Corporate Section]

References