Over the last decade, the Americas have seen a return of authoritarianism and populism, as well as a disenchantment and mistrust of citizens towards democracy. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this situation. Today, the Americas, and the world, face the challenges of vaccination; economic recovery; transitioning to a greener, more just, and equitable economy; and stopping the spread of authoritarianism. In this context, the Dominican Republic (DR) is a case of democratic success in a region plagued by problematic regimes. The Dominican Republic retains high economic growth and is embarked on a series of reforms to strengthen democratic institutions and the impudence of the judiciary. The government is promoting foreign direct investment and export to ensure welfare for all. The country has partnered with Costa Rica and Panama to encourage nearshoring as a strategy to capture U.S. trade diversion from China. Nearshoring is commercially and geopolitically a better alternative for the United States than continued dependence from East Asia and is more feasible than reshoring all production. The DR has ideal conditions to receive companies that supply the United States, such as a strong business climate, rule of law and stability, both economic and political. The Georgetown Americas Institute invited Roberto Alvarez, foreign minister of the Dominican Republic, to discuss these successes and ongoing challenges in the region in an event in Riggs Library.
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Roberto Álvarez (L'76) is the foreign minister of the Dominican Republic. In the foreign service of the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1970, between 1970 and 1978 he worked at the Organization of American States (OAS) as deputy chief of protocol, staff attorney in the legal department, and in the secretariat of the human rights commission. Mr. Alvarez has worked as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), as coordinator of the First Forum on Private Investment in the Americas, and for the Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD) of the United Nations. Between June 2005 and September 2008, Mr. Alvarez held the position of Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the OAS with the rank of ambassador. He was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars from 2012 until 2020. He writes frequently for Dominican newspapers and magazines and has also published occasional op-ed pieces in the Washington Post, Miami Herald, and El Pais (Spain). Mr. Álvarez received a master's degree in international relations (1982) from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and completed all course work toward a Ph.D. in U.S. foreign policy. He also holds a J.D. degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (1968) and a master's degree in comparative law from Georgetown University (1976).
