Dr. Leonel Fernández Honored by the Central American Parliament for His Contribution to Regional Integration

Dr. Leonel Fernández, former Dominican President and current President of Global Foundation of Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode), was awarded the “Francisco de Morazán,” rank of the Gran Cruz by the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN for its Spanish acronym), the regional body’s highest distinction.

The honor was paid to Dr. Fernández, who also chairs the EU-LAC
Foundation and Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (Dominican Liberation Party), for his outstanding contribution to Central American and Caribbean integration with the goal of providing the entire region with an increasingly stronger voice within various international bodies.

After presenting Dr. Fernández with the award, PARLACEN president José Antonio Alvarado Correa, said that, in addition to being an excellent example of democratic rule in the region, Fernández has
always been an enthusiastic supporter of Central American and Caribbean integration.

Mr. Alvarado Correa pointed out that during the administration of  President Fernández, the Dominican Republic appointed its first representatives to the Central American Parliament, which was an important link in the process of regional integration.

Alvarado Correa added that former President Fernández played a vigorous role in the process of restoring
institutionalism in Honduras and made significant contributions to achieving a peaceful solution to several conflicts among Latin American countries.

“We give this award to a distinguished son of the Dominican Republic,” proclaimed Alvarado Correa, after welcoming recommendations made by Dr. Fernández on the current situation in Brazil, which included a call for calm and for allowing Brazilians the democratic right to choose their own
leaders.

Dr. Fernández expressed his appreciation for the distinction bestowed upon him by PARLACEN and urged Central American and Caribbean countries to continue their efforts toward achieving stronger and more solid integration.

The former Dominican president said that all of Latin America is mourning what happened in Brazil with the ouster of President Dilma Rousseff, noting that this action constitutes a curtailment of democracy.

“Such examples should be studied in detail and reviewed legally so as not to become a trend in Latin America. We cannot accept this type, or any other new form of coup in Latin America,” said Dr. Fernández.

The ceremony, held in the headquarters of Funglode, was attended by several PARLACEN representatives, including secretary of the Board of Directors Sergia Elena de Séliman as well as Tony Raful, Santiago Rodríguez, Juan Pablo Plácido,
Fausto Liz, Franklin de la Cruz, Manuel Adames, Silvia García, Mirelys Uceta, Martha Pérez, Máximo Lebrón, María Elena Pérez and Víctor Mojica.

Related link: http://leonelfernandez.com/noticias/leonel-fernandez-condecorado-por-el-parlamento-centroamericano-por-sus-aportes-a-la-integracion-regional/