Posted on 05/01/2008 8:58:10 AM PDT by bs9021
2008 Milton Friedman Award
by: Bethany Stotts, May 01, 2008
Yon Goicoechea, the leader of the Venezuelan Student Movement, has recently been declared the winner of the 2008 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty. The CATO Institute-sponsored prize of $500,000 will be presented to Goicoechea on May 15 at the Waldorf=Historia Hotel in New York City.
Many credit Goicoechea with thwarting a 2007 referendum which contained 69 constitutional amendments designed to centralize unprecedented economic and political power within the government. At a March 2008 CATO briefing, Gustavo Tovar (another movement leader) said of his fellow panelist, Goicoechea, that The leaders of the past was just about to say that Chavez won, the leaders of the past. [Yon and Freddy] said, well, you can say whatever you want to saywe are going to the streets. We know that we won and you will have to do what we want to do because we are supported by the truth. We dont know what supports you. And that day our history changed.
The Venezuelan Student Movement advances democracy and liberty through peaceful, non-violent means such as the massive student protest marches this December. It emerged in May 2007, after the government order the closure of the nations oldest television station, Radio Caracas Television (RCTV).
Goicoechea claims inspiration from historical icons such as Mahatma Ghandi (India) and Slobodon Milosovec (Serbia). He told the New York Times that We believe in exhausting the democratic options available to us through peaceful action and We want social transformation, not a coup...The real coup détat is coming from Chávez...
(Excerpt) Read more at campusreportonline.net ...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.