Carter Center, World Affairs Council of Atlanta to host Cuban and Latin America conversations

The Carter Center and the World Affairs Council of Atlanta are collaborating on two events that will survey the future of Cuba and Latin America.

Former U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro will hold a conversation with Professor Richard Feinberg on "The Emergence of a Private Sector in Cuba," at 7p.m. Tuesday. The event will take place in the theater of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta.

At 1 p.m. Thursday, Shapiro also will interview Joaquin Villalobos, a onetime Salvadoran guerrilla member about the role of the left in Latin America and his transition from guerrilla to political actor. The interview will be in the Carter Center’s Cyprus Room.

The public events are connected to a private meeting of the Friends of the Inter-American Democratic Charter on Wednesday. The Carter Center's Americas Program will host the meeting.

During the meeting, the attendees will analyze the sociopolitical condition of the hemisphere, and discuss the group's strategy to promote democracy and human rights.

Among those scheduled to attend are:  Luis Almagro Lemes, secretary-general of the Organization of American States; Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States; Nicolás Ardito Barletta, former president of Panama; Joe Clark, former prime minister of Canada; Carlos Mesa, former president of Bolivia; and Alejandro Toledo, former president of Peru.

Members of the public who wish to attend the Tuesday or Thursday conversations can register for free at wacatl.robinson.gsu.edu.