The third ‘Russia and Ibero-America in a Globalizing World: History and Modernity’ international forum

The third ‘Russia and Ibero-America in a Globalizing World: History and Modernity’ international forum was held on 2–4 October 2017 in St. Petersburg. The event was attended by some 500 representatives of scientific, expert, and political circles from more than 30 countries.

Discussions took place in various formats: plenary sessions, parallel main conferences, roundtables, presentations, meetings on specific themes, and working groups. In addition, the members of the organizing committee summarized the results of a competition for young Ibero-American researchers.

Speakers and moderators included eminent figures from Latin America such as Dilma Rousseff, a Brazilian politician and former President of the Federative Republic of Brazil (2011–2016); Ernesto Samper Pizano, former President of Colombia (1994–1998) and Secretary-General of the Union of South American Nations (2014-2017); Jorge Castañeda Gutman, a Mexican diplomat and politician; Alejandro Encinas, former Head of Government of Mexico City; Aldo Panfichi Huamán, President of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA); Pablo Gentili, Executive Director of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences; Jussi Pakkasvirta, President of the European Council for Social Research on Latin America; and José Antonio Ocampo, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Co-director of the Central Bank of Colombia.

An important practical aspect of the event was the discussion of prospects and opportunities for economic, political, and scientific cooperation between Russia and Latin America in the context of current world economic trends.

A wide range of topics was explored, including issues surrounding the framework for international relations, the crisis facing the socialist regimes of Latin America and what this means for Russia, legal systems and integration processes, establishing cultural ties between countries, and the role of BRICS in creating a multipolar world.