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
