CALD ED Attends LI Congress

CALD Executive Director Lito Arlegue attended the 60^th Congress of Liberal International (LI) which took place in Mexico City, Mexico on 28 October – 1 November 2015.  With the theme “Liberalism in the 21^st Century”, the Congress was part of the ongoing process of consultation and dialogue initiated by the LI leadership in preparation for the writing of a renewed LI Manifesto at the 70^th anniversary of LI in 2017.

The official programme began on 29 October with parallel fringe meetings on violence against women and the secular state organized by the International Network of Liberal Women (INLW) and Partido Liberal de Chile respectively.  This was followed by the interactive report of the LI Secretary General and the LI Executive Committee (EC) Administrative Session where updates on LI activities, new applicant members and other administrative issues were raised.  The day ended with a gala dinner hosted by Caminos de la Libertad in Convento San Hipolito at the center of Mexico City.

The actual Congress took place on 30-31 October.  The opening of the Congress included remarks from LI President Juli Minoves, President of Red Liberal de America Latina (RELIAL) Ricardo Lopez-Murphy, President of Mexico’s Nueva Alianza Luis Castro Obregon and Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s (FNF) Deputy Chairman Prof. Karl-Heinz Paque.  A panel discussion on populism then ensued, with the keynote address delivered by Helen Zille, LI Deputy President and Premier of Western Cape, South Africa.  In her address, Zille asked: “Is it possible for emerging democracies to escape the trappings of populism?”  While she did not give a straightforward answer to this question, she argued that liberals should focus on improving the lives of the people and making opportunities available to them.  She emphasized that “there is no use to just talk about freedom – people have to see that freedom can be used to improve their lives.”

In the afternoon of 30 October, parallel sessions on migration and women participation in politics were held.  Another important session that took place that afternoon was the ALN-CALD-RELIAL-LI-FNF Coordination Meeting, where the CALD Executive Director had the chance to meet his counterparts in Africa (Africa Liberal Network of ALN) and Latin America (RELIAL).  At the conclusion of the coordination meeting, the following were agreed upon: (1) regional networks may meet on a regular basis on the sidelines of LI or of the respective regional network’s events; (2) greater coordination should be observed in planning the activities of regional networks; and (3) a strategic planning amongst regional networks should be explored.  The day was capped with a dinner hosted by Nueva Alianza in Restaurant San Fernando.

The last day of the Congress began with a breakfast discussion on the 2016 U.S. elections with Gov. Howard Dean, former DNC Chairman and member of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Governing Board.  This was followed by keynote speeches of liberal leaders from Paraguay, Democratic Republic of Congo, Taiwan, Morocco and the United Kingdom regarding their “vision of liberalism” in their respective countries/regions.  Then President of Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Party Graham Watson put it best, “The voice of liberalism is not always alive and well, but it does not rest until it finds its echoes everywhere.”

Three equally interesting parallel sessions on human rights in developing democracies, civil liberties in Latin America and international drugs trade then took place, followed by lunches organized by FNF and by ALDE.  In the afternoon, the youth wing of Nueva Alianza organized a session on youth participation in politics, and this was followed by the Congress Administrative Session where resolutions were adopted.  The Congress ended with the speech of LI President Minoves entitled “Liberal International ahead of its 70^th Anniversary” which he delivered in the farewell cocktail reception at Museo de Arte Popular.

“It was a great pleasure to attend the 60^th Congress of LI, especially since this Congress is seen as an important component of LI’s upcoming 70^thanniversary celebrations”, said Arlegue.  “The diversity of issues and opinions tackled in the event proved that the liberal spirit is alive and well, and that liberalism remains to be a potent ideology in the 21^st century and beyond.”