The Bicentennial: 1910-2010: Lessons and Opportunities
The project was designed to offer a critical evaluation of the trajectories followed by Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Mexico in their first and second centennials, to identify commonalities as well as differences that have marked the historic evolution of these countries in the period between 1910 and 2010.
The investigation was organized around five central themes: politics, the economy, society, international relations, and thought and culture. The project was intended to offer viewpoints on current trends and future prospects in each one of the four countries in all of the areas mentioned above.With this objective, the Vidanta Foundation financed more than 50 studies that were carried out in 2010.
To do so, it partnered with the Foundation for Democracy and Development, which is presided over by the former president of Chile, Ricardo Lagos. In the four countries mentioned, the national coordination of each project was managed by universities and academic institutions of great international prestige.The seven books that came out of the project "The Bicentennial: 1910-2010: Lessons and Opportunities" were presented at the international seminar "The Bicentennial Opportunity:1910-2010" that took place in the Industrialists Club of Mexico City on October 14, 2010.
Participating countries and institutions
Argentina Universidad Torcuato Di Tella
Chile Fundación Democracia y Desarrollo
Colombia Universidad Externado
México Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
National coordinators
| Argentina | Colombia |
| Natalio Botana | María Teresa Calderón |
| Roberto Russell | Isabela Restrepo |
| Chile | México |
| Ricardo Lagos | María Amparo Casar |
| Eugenio Lahera | Guadalupe González |
| Alfredo Riquelme | Érika Ruiz Sandoval |
Agreement of Cooperation
In January of 2009, the Vidanta Foundation signed an agreement of cooperation with the Carolina Foundation of Spain, the Foundation for Democracy and Development of Chile, and the Elcano Royal Institute of Spain. The agreement, signed in Madrid, joined the signatory institutions for the development of the bicentennial project. The Carolina Foundation financed the international seminar held in Santiago in August 2009 and contributed in part to the seminar that took place in Mexico City on October 14, 2010.
Results
The project concluded with the publication of seven books edited by Taurus Publishersin its "Thought" collection.
Argentina 1910-2010. Balance del siglo. Roberto Russell (ed.): Carlos Altamirano, Pablo Gerchunoff, Luis Alberto Romero, Roberto Russell y Juan Carlos Torre.
Argentina 1910-2010: Evaluation of the Century. Roberto Russell (ed.): Carlos Altamirano,Pablo Gerchunoff, Luis Alberto Romero, Roberto Russell and Juan Carlos Torre.
Argentina 2010: Between Frustration and Hope. Natalio Botana (ed.): Natalio Botana, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Roberto Cortes Conde, Karina Galperin, Osvaldo Guariglia,Guillermo Jaim Etcheverry, Manuel Mora y Araujo, Carlos Perez Llana and Julio Maria Sanguinetti.
Colombia 1910-2010. Maria Teresa Calderon and Isabela Restrepo (eds): Jose Antonio Ocampo, Rodrigo Pardo, Daniel Eduardo Posada-Carbo, Juan Gabriel Tokatlian andRenan Silva.
One Hundred Years of Light and Shadow: A look at the Bicentennial (2 volumes). Ricardo Lagos (editor): The authors of the 2 volumes are: Ricardo Lagos Escobar, Cristian BelleiCarvacho, Juan Emilio Cheyre Espinosa, Manuel Antonio Garreton, Oscar Landerretche Morano, Osvaldo Larrañaga, Carlos Maldonado R., Patricio Meller, Sonia MontecinoAguirre, Cecilia Osorio Gonnet, Víctor Perez Vera, Fernando Reyes Matta, AlfredoRiquelme Segovia, Fernando Saez G. and Sol Serrano.
Mexico 2010: Trial of the Century. María Amparo Casar and Guadalupe Gonzalez (eds):Fernando Escalante Gonzalbo, Hector Aguilar Camin, Maria Amparo Casar, Jose Ramon Cossío, Guadalupe Gonzalez, Federico Reyes Heroles and Francisco Suarez Davila.Mexico 2010: Mortgaging the Future. Erika Ruiz Sandoval (ed.): Jorge Alberto Lozoya, Nicolas Alvarado, Gerardo Esquivel, Silvia E. Giorguli Saucedo, Fausto Hernandez Trillo, Alejandro Moreno, Erika Ruiz Sandoval, Pedro Salazar Ugarte and Jesus Silva-Herzog Marquez.
Workshops
Workshop "The Bicentennial Opportunity: Progressand Future Guidelines" , Santiago, Chile, 2008.
Seminars
Roundtable Discussion "The Meaning of the Bicentennials", Santiago,Chile, 2009.
International Seminar “The Bicentennial Opportunity: 1910-2010”.
Other Events
"The Bicentennial: 1910-2010:Lessons and Opportunities"