Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

3 P rince of A sturias A wards 1981-2014. S peeches Laureates. Excerpts Fernando Henrique Cardoso was President of the Republic of Brazil in two consecutive mandates, from 1995 to 1999 and from 1999 to 2002. — Excerpt from the speech given on the occasion of receiving the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation on 27/10/2000. The great sea journeys, the epic of the “Conquistadors”, the dialectic of colonialization and independence, all created bridges that allow us to aspire to union between the old and the new world, between a Europe that is rich in traditions —but at the same time so prodigious in promises and possibilities for the future— and a Latin America whose greatest tradition is creating new opportunities: for development, justice and freedom. A Latin America, where poverty and exclusion still mark a gap with democratic, integrated and prosperous Europe. This Latin America and its struggles for democracy and better living conditions for its peoples has formed part of my academic life and my life as a public figure. This Latin America, whose challenges I have attempted to study since I was a research scholar in Chile and even before. This Latin America, which is also Ibero-America and which has always brought me closer to so many friends in Spain. Fernando Henrique Cardoso — Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation 2000