A Devex Newsmaker Event
Shaping growth in Latin America: A conversation with Santiago Levy
DECEMBER 7, 2021 - 10 a.m. ET | 4 p.m. CET
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About the Event
In a world hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, one region has arguably fared worst: Latin America. While Latin America is a large and diverse region, people across countries have uniformly faced bad outcomes. Latin America has some of the worst mortality rates from the pandemic itself, and among the worst economic contractions due to the global slowdown and lockdown measures. Millions of people across the region have been pushed into poverty; crime and violence continue to plague several countries; corruption and political instability are immediate challenges; and there are three full-blown humanitarian crises in Venezuela, Haiti, and Central America.
Against this bleak backdrop, what are committed humanitarians, development agencies, and international organizations to do? In a special series of Devex Newsmaker conversations, we will explore both the underlying causes of the recent setbacks across the region and, more importantly, what can be done to support national and community-led efforts to imagine a new future for the region.
These conversations will include three exemplary leaders uniquely placed to address these questions. Luis Alberto Moreno served for 15 years as the president of the Inter-American Development Bank until he stepped down last year, and is among Latin America’s most prominent leaders on the global stage. Roberta Jacobson was the United States ambassador to Mexico, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, and served U.S. President Joe Biden in managing the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border this year. In addition to holding a number of key government roles in Mexico’s finance ministry, Santiago Levy is globally recognized as the architect of Mexico’s noted incentive-based health, education, and nutrition program for the poor, and is one of the region’s most prominent development analysts.
Join Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar on Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 10 a.m. ET (4 p.m. CET) for our third and final Devex Newsmaker conversation, exploring Latin America’s post-pandemic future with Santiago Levy.
Save your Spot on Tuesday, December 7 at 10 a.m. ET | 4 p.m. CET
Schedule
10 a.m. ET
Welcome and opening remarks
• Raj Kumar, president and editor-in-chief, Devex
• Teresa Walsh, senior reporter, Devex
10:05 a.m. ET
One-on-one interview
Speakers:
• Santiago Levy, non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former vice president for Sectors and Knowledge, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
• Moderator: Raj Kumar, president and editor-in-chief, Devex
10:35 a.m. ET
Fireside chat
Speakers:
• Mario Arriagada, program officer for Latin America, Open Society Foundations
• Moderator: Raj Kumar, president and editor-in-chief, Devex
10:45 a.m. ET
Closing Remarks
• Raj Kumar, president and editor-in-chief, Devex
• Teresa Walsh, senior reporter, Devex
Speakers
Santiago Levy
Former Vice President of Sectors and Knowledge, the Inter-American Development Bank
Santiago Levy is currently a Nonresident Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution and Senior Advisor with the United Nations Development Programme. Prior to that, he was Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge at the Inter-American Development Bank, General Director of Mexico’s Social Security Institute, deputy minister at Mexico’s Ministry of Finance, and President of Mexico’s Federal Competition Commission. At the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Levy was the main architect of Progresa-Oportunidades, Mexico’s incentive-based health, nutrition and education program for the poor; he promoted legal reforms to decentralize resources to states and municipalities; and participated in the change of the pay-as-you-go to the capitalized pension system. At the Social Security Institute, he promoted legal changes to reform pensions and extend coverage to rural workers. Mr. Levy’s current work focuses on the inter-phase between social policy and growth in Latin America and the challenges of socially inclusive growth.
Mario Arriagada
Program Officer for Latin America, Open Society Foundations
Mario Arriagada is Senior Program Officer of the Latin America Program at the Open Society Foundations. Previously, Arriagada held a series of key posts within Mexico’s public service: He was junior adviser to the minister of political development from 2000 to 2002, and deputy director for legislative affairs in 2003; from 2010 to 2011 he was Director for National Security at Mexico's Ministry of Infrastructure. Before joining the OSF, he was Senior Adviser to the Director of the Senate’s Budget Office (Instituto Belisario Domínguez). Arriagada was also an editor at reputed nexos magazine from 2011 to 2014; he participates regularly on printed media, and mainstream TV; has founded and been an active part of several NGOs, civil society coalitions, participated in a series of campaigns and social mobilizations, especially focused on political reform, citizen security, and economic justice. Arriagada studied International Relations at El Colegio de México; and an MRes/PhD in Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics.
Raj Kumar
President and editor-in-chief, Devex
Raj Kumar is the Founding President and Editor-in-Chief at Devex, the media platform for the global development community. He is a media leader and former humanitarian council chair for the World Economic Forum and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His work has led him to more than 50 countries, where he has had the honor to meet many of the aid workers and development professionals who make up the Devex community. He is the author of the book "The Business of Changing the World," a go-to primer on the ideas, people, and technology disrupting the aid industry.