In the United States, there are presidential libraries honoring every President since Herbert Hoover. These libraries are repositories for preserving and making available the papers, records, collections, and other historical materials of their career and time in office. In addition to providing library services, these libraries display museum exhibitions concerning each of the presidencies and carry out public programs on relevant topics. As there is no similar tradition in Latin America or the Caribbean, when presidents in Central and South America and the Caribbean complete their terms, they take all of their personal papers and mementos with them.
The Global Peace Foundation’s Latin American Presidential Mission (“LAPM”) seeks to create a permanent Latin American Presidential Library where each of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean can be represented. LAPM is a civic movement of democratically elected former presidents committed to improving the dialogue in the Americas, strengthening democracy, and contributing to peace and development in Latin America. The Latin American Presidential Library would centralize official and personal Presidential documents and other materials related to the democratically elected presidents of Latin America and the Caribbean from 1970 to the present.
Broward County is an ideal location for a Latin American Presidential Library. The County serves as a gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean and is home to large Latin American and Caribbean communities. Additionally, over 1000 students from Latin America and the Caribbean attend local colleges in the Broward County area (Exhibit 2). A Latin American Presidential Library in Broward County would spur economic development in Broward County as it would attract tourists and academics from around the region and world.
This Memorandum of Understanding provides a framework for Broward County and the Global Peace Foundation to work together explore options for locating the Latin American Presidential Library in Broward County.
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