Mexico City, Mexico—In April and May, representatives of UPF-Central America and the Caribbean met with government leaders in Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama to discuss UPF’s work and invite them to the Latin America Summit, which will be held from August 2 to 5, 2018 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Mexico
From April 22 to 24, a delegation comprised of Dr. Charles S. Yang, president of UPF-Central America and the Caribbean; Hon. José Alfaro Jiménez, president of the IAPP-Central America and the Caribbean, and member of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica; Dr. Santiago Rivas, executive secretary of FOPREL (Forum of Presidents of the Legislative Bodies of Central America and the Caribbean Basin); and Mr. Victor Castillo, secretary of UPF-Mexico, met with parliamentarians in Mexico.
Among those they met were
- Senator Gabriela Cuevas Barrón, who is also the president of the IUP (International Union of Parliamentarians);
- Ernesto J. Cordero Arroyo, president of the Senate of Mexico;
- Edgar Romo García, president of the Chamber of Deputies;
- Baltazar Martínez Montemayor, federal deputy of the LXIII Legislature of the Mexican Congress; and
- Laura Paula Lopez, local deputy of Monterrey, Mexico.
They all agreed on the importance of peace and working together, and expressed interest in participating in the Latin America Summit.
Honduras
From April 24 to 26, Dr. Yang; Hon. Jiménez; Dr. Rivas; together with Mr. Mario Salinas, director of UPF-Honduras, met with current and former government leaders in Honduras, including
- Dr. Mauricio Oliva Herrera, president of the National Congress of Honduras and president of FOPREL;
- Miguel Edgardo Martínez, member of the National Congress of Honduras;
- David Reyes, member of the National Congress of Honduras and member of the IAPP-Honduras; and
- Marco Tulio Flores Escobar.
Dr. Herrera will speak at the Latin America Summit.
Costa Rica
From May 15 to 17, Dr. Yang; Hon. Jiménez; Dr. Rivas; together with Rev. Oscar Mario Barquero, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU)—Costa Rica, an affiliated organization; and Mr. Eliecer Araya, secretary general of UPF-Central America and the Caribbean, met with leaders in Costa Rica.
Among those they met were
- Epsy Campbell Barr, the vice president of Costa Rica and minister of foreign affairs;
- Carolina Hidalgo Herrera, president of the National Assembly of Costa Rica; and
- Fabian Solano Fernández, vice minister of justice and peace.
Hon. Barr is the first female vice president of African descent of a country in Latin America.
Panama
From May 17 to 18, Dr. Yang and Mr. Araya, together with Mr. Toribio De Lora, FFWPU-Panama, an affiliated organization, and Mr. Fabio Perez, president of UPF-Panama, met with leaders in Panama, including
- Raisa Banfield, the vice mayor of Panama City;
- Dalia Bernald and Hon. Zulay Rodriguez, members of the National Assembly of Panama; and
Hon. Nelly Cedeño, magistrate for the Superior Family Court.