Remarks by Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro '83 at Convocation Sept. 19, 2006

Posted 09/19/06

Juan Carlos Navarro is mayor of Panama City, Panama

Muchas gracias. Muchas gracias, provosts. Muy buenos días a todos. Muy buenos días, presidente Jim Wright; señora Wright; señores decanos; señores profesores; mujeres y hombres de Dartmouth. I will not go on in Spanish, don't worry...

I am naturally quite honored to be here. When President Wright called me on the 4th of July and asked me to come speak to you he asked me to please bring a little of Panama's tropical weather in September. President Wright, mission accomplished. However, what happens from now on is your responsibility.

As a matter of fact yesterday we were discussing this and other topics with a group of students from that foreign country we all love - New York City. And, we were reminiscing about how the world is changing and the hemisphere is changing.

I was very happy this morning to see that there are many more of you on my left than there are on my right. I can see that President Hugo Chávez Frías of Venezuela is having an influence on Dartmouth. Fidel Castro would be proud of you. I might add that this is from where I'm standing.

Actually, when I first came to Dartmouth the world was very different than it is today. That was almost three decades ago. Pretty amazing, how time flies. And, back then, the Soviet Union was a world power - I know this is news to you freshman - but this country used to be powerful and very, very dangerous to the world. There was an Iron Curtain, Europe was not free, it was divided in half between the "haves" and the "have nots." And in fact freedom, liberty, and democracy were under attack throughout the hemisphere and I would say throughout the world.

The global economy was in a slump. At that moment Ronald Reagan was starting his first successful attempt on the presidency campaign here in the U.S.. And, in my own country, we still had U.S. troops on our soil. The Canal was still owned by the U.S. and we were struggling to build a prosperous democracy in Panama, with freedom, with liberty - a task which was, back then, daunting.

Here in school there were very few women. The class of '79, I heard yesterday, was the first to actually graduate women and let me tell you I am very impressed in the over 50 percent number of women who are in this class. But furthermore, and I must say this, President Wright, I can tell you after this visit that the positive influence of women on every aspect of Dartmouth is truly remarkable. Congratulations.

Let me tell you a story. When I arrived on campus, 17 years old - as many of you, without a clue - I got here very late at night, September; it was colder than it is today. Back then, I found my way to my dorm with the help of the usual helpful folks here at school. I slept very little because I had to get up very early the next day - I was very tired, I was jet-lagged - to go on a freshman trip and I had chosen canoeing on one of New Hampshire's many lakes.

Even though the weather was not as warm as today, it was still warm and when we got there the guys in charge of the trip insisted that I have a swimming test. That I should have had earlier, but since I had arrived late I had to do it on the lake, rather in the lake. I swam competitively in Panama for 10 years and so I wasn't worried about the swimming and jumped right in. Somebody should have warned me of the insane temperature of the lakes in New Hampshire. This was death defying - I still remember this. Those of you who went through the lake thing will probably attest to this, but the fact is that it was a harbinger of things to come.

Coming to Dartmouth was a shock. As it will be too many of you. It was a culture shock, it was also a shock academically - I had to get used to a totally different, difficult system, especially freshman year - and I had to get used to the cold and those dark winter days. Coming from the tropics, to this day I can't figure it out. How can it get so dark, so early?

You will encounter this too. Not only here, you will also be shocked when you leave the sheltered world of Dartmouth and go out into the real world. I think Dartmouth should prepare you for all of life's shocks and surprises.

Now, a few words of advice. Practical advice. First, for the Greeks and the Romans there were two sciences - history and geography. I strongly advise you to do a little geography so you know where you are. A little history so that you know how you got here. I would also take a little religion or philosophy to know why you are here and where you are going. And finally, I think it would be good if you take a little economics and finance so that you can find out how to pay for it all.

Oh, by the way - languages. To all of those who understood my initial words [a greeting to the audience in Spanish], both of you, I'll see you outside. We have some of the best language opportunities here of any school on earth. The world is increasingly globalized. Be brave enough to learn and to travel - it will be increasing useful.

And a final word on this practical advice - I think you should all thank your parents for the enormous sacrifice they are doing to keep you all here. I want to give all of them a round of applause.

Look around you. Today's world is totally different from the world that I lived in when I first came here almost three decades ago. Europe is free, there is no Iron Curtain, the Soviet Union is no longer a major power or a threat. Back then we were really worried about nuclear annihilation on a daily basis. This too has changed. Most of the Americas are free and democratic. Most of the world lives in liberty and democracy. The global economy is on the rise, trade barriers are falling, global commerce is increasing. In my own country the world has changed dramatically. Panamanians now run the Canal and, by the way, safer and more efficiently than ever before thus complying with our covenant with the U.S. to do the Canal responsibly.

Panama's economy is growing at 7.9 percent a year. We have attracted over $3 billion in foreign direct investment in the last couple of years. We live in a free, democratic society. We now elect our presidents and we are starting to address the issues that still challenge us - such as poverty, improving our education, building an appropriate infrastructure, increasing the capacity of the Canal. We have a referendum on the 22nd of October so that everybody votes and decides whether we improve the capacity of this Canal, which is now generating over $800 million a year in net benefits to our government and our country. And by improving that capacity we can take that up to $3 billion a year within the next 15 years.

And we're also in the middle of negotiating a free trade agreement with the U.S., which we hope will carry our traditional strategic relationship to a new level. This will be before year's end. And so, as we have in Panama, you in the U.S. and the world will face important challenges in the years ahead.

I would like to especially underline the difficulties with global population growth and this you will live through in your generation. How will we feed seven billion people? How can seven billion people aspire to obtain the level of development and material comfort of U.S. citizens? Worse yet, how will we do that, even partially, without destroying the global environment? Environmental degradation will be more severe by the day, by the month, and by the year and I think it has to be a part of every agenda, in every country and in every continent. We must also, together, confront global terrorism. The radicalization of terrorism, the boldness of terrorist acts are a tremendous challenge which we truly didn't envision three decades ago but are part of our day-to-day reality. And also, the U.S. must figure out how it operates in an increasingly globalized world.

So, we will face our challenges in Panama. We most also, with you, change part of the world we live in to meet global challenges. The years ahead, therefore, will not be easy. Nonetheless, as John F. Kennedy said, "Of those to whom much is given, much is required."

In the global context, women and men of Dartmouth, you are the privileged few. Therefore, to you, to whom much has been given, much will be required. Today as you start the rest of your lives with your own unique individual Dartmouth experience, I ask you not to waste this opportunity. Dare to dream. Dare to achieve. Dare to live. And by the way, have fun. The world is not to suffer and you are not here for that reason. I think that we can dream, we can achieve, we can live and at the same time have fun doing well by doing good.

And we can do it. We can do well by doing good. Changing one community at a time, one city at a time, one state at a time, one country at a time. I strongly commend you to find your souls. Do not be an empty vessel blowing in the wind whichever way the wind takes you. Do not be seduced by technology and materialism with an empty core. Find God. You are here for a reason.

And finally, dare to fight for what you believe in. Simon Bolivar crossed the Andes, South America's highest mountains, to liberate a continent with his entire army. They thought it was impossible - he achieved it. Hannibal crossed Europe from Spain through the Alps to attack his nemesis, Imperial Rome. They told him it was impossible - he achieved it. And Don Quixote de la Mancha, for five hundred years has been battling windmills. I dare you to be your best. Do your best and achieve your dreams. It is your responsibility.

God bless you all.

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