Message from CLAS Director Alberto Diaz-Cayeros

January 12, 2018

Dear friends and colleagues,

As Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Stanford University I deplore the disparaging and racist remarks expressed by President Trump on Thursday.

The situation of Haiti, the poorest country in our hemisphere, should elicit solidarity, compassion and a call for humanitarian aid from the most powerful nation in the world.  The human tragedy unfolding in El Salvador is, to a large extent, a consequence of US policies during the Cold War and its hypocritical war on drugs. Deplorable, in its etymological origin, means to “bewail or lament”, de – entirely, plorare – weep, cry out. The millions of persons living in poverty and insecurity throughout the Americas consider migrating to the US in the search of a better life, because they aspire to come to a country that upholds the values of hard work, human dignity and tolerance. While I continue directing CLAS, we will strive to provide a safe haven and a scholarly space that promotes understanding and embracing of difference and sympathy towards the plight of those less fortunate in Latin America and the Caribbean.

With best regards,
Alberto Díaz-Cayeros