There was a time in former Ambassador Luis Lauredo's life when he had long hair and a beard, attended protests and was branded a hippie and even a radical by some of his more conservative Cuban-American peers.
Of course, that was decades ago, when Lauredo was a college student at Columbia University in New York in the late 1960s. He later went on to become one of the forefathers of the Free Trade Area of the Americas concept and the U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States.
Today, Lauredo, 54, is executive director of the FTAA Ministerial and American Business Forum, preparing the ministerial meeting this week that is expected to draw trade ministers from around the Americas, as well as tens of thousands of protesters.
The irony of a former student protester's pushing one of the most ambitious -- and heavily opposed -- capitalist plans ever is not lost on Lauredo.
''If you're young and you're not idealistic, there's something wrong with you,'' Lauredo said of the protests he attended while at Columbia. ``We thought we could change the world, and we did a little bit.''
Lauredo is still out to change the world.
The free-trade pact he has been pushing for a decade would be the biggest in the world, with more than 800 million people. Supporters say it has the ability to unite the hemisphere, an ambition that has eluded leaders since the early 1800s, when Venezuela's Simón Bolívar tried unsuccessfully to create a single Latin nation. Protesters worry about its impact on workers, the environment and the poor.
Lauredo is an obvious natural for his job.
FINDING SOLUTIONS
U.S. Deputy Trade Representative Peter Allgeier said Lauredo's Cuban heritage and his ability to speak Spanish allows him to straddle cultures.
''In this hemisphere, you have to be able to connect with both cultures,'' Allgeier told The Herald in a recent interview.
During Lauredo's career in diplomacy and international issues over the past two decades, he has compiled an impressive list of contacts.
For example, Lauredo left a lasting impression on Ivonne A-Baki, the foreign minister of Ecuador, when he helped bring Peru and Ecuador to the table for peace talks when border disputes in 1995 brought the two countries to the brink of war, she said.
''He is always in dialogue to find solutions,'' A-Baki said in a recent interview. ``He has the North American mentality, which is very good for what he does. But he is American and Latin, and understands the cultures of all our countries.''
In a recent phone conversation with A-Baki, which was observed by a Herald reporter sitting in his office, Lauredo spoke frankly with her about Brazil's position in the trade negotiations.
Brazil, which co-chairs the FTAA negotiations with the United States, is trying hard to get the United States to ease its subsidies to the agriculture industry.
''Clearly, they have overplayed their hand,'' Lauredo told A-Baki. ``Brazil is hijacking this thing into the political arena. . . . We've got to get beyond this thing.
``There is respect for fighting for the rights and interests of Ecuador, but don't get hijacked by someone else's agenda.''
Lauredo has had an interest in international affairs since a young age.
He was born in Cuba and came to the United States at the age of 12. After graduating from Christopher Columbus High School, he went to Columbia University on a basketball scholarship in 1968.
Eventually, Lauredo became president of the Latin American Student Organization, let his hair and his beard grow out as the Vietnam War enraged youths around the country, and even protested Columbia's administration for the nominal number of Hispanic students the university accepted.
''I don't regret a minute of it,'' Lauredo said. ``Demonstrations have been a part of my life since my early years.''
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz said Lauredo is the perfect person to plan the ministerial. The city of Miami gave Lauredo a $120,000-plus consulting contract to help him prepare the city for the meeting, City Manager Joe Arriola said. Lauredo's other hat, Arriola said, is to push Miami as the site of the future FTAA secretariat.
''Luis is a very open-minded person and a great believer in free speech and giving people the opportunity to say what they need to say,'' Diaz said. ``That's how he grew up, those are not things that you forget.''
In 1994, Lauredo served as executive director of the first Summit of the Americas, the birthplace of the FTAA concept. He also coordinated the gathering of 34 hemispheric heads of state for the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in 2001.
`A BIPARTISAN VISION'
Former President Bill Clinton named him ambassador to the Organization of American States in 1999, a position he held until 2001.
He also maneuvers between political parties. While he is a traditional Democrat, Lauredo has earned respect from the Republican Bush administration.
Roger Noriega, undersecretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, said Lauredo brings a bipartisan vision to the job.
''He's a Democrat who strongly believes trade is good for workers,'' Noriega said. ``He tells labor leaders that they are wrong, that these are good jobs that are created through trade.''
Lauredo said he thinks free trade and the FTAA should transcend party lines because they can benefit everyone.
''I am a passionate believer that our strategic interests lie in this hemisphere,'' Lauredo said.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.