Message from Yoani Sánchez for a panel discussion on democracy in Latin America (Frankfurt Book Fair 2010)

On October 7, 2010 the Bertelsmann Stiftung organized a panel discussion on the status and prospects of democracy in Latin America in the new centre „Weltempfang“ at the Frankfurt Book Fair, a cooperation between the Book Fair and the German Foreign Service. Participants of the discussion included Dr. Eva Karnofsky (Journalist and Writer, Bad Honnef), Dr. Hans-Jürgen Puhle (Professor of Political Sciences, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt), Dr. Martín Kohan (Writer and Critic, Buenos Aires) and Josef Beck (Head of the Department Latin America/Andean states and Deputy Representative for Latin America in the German Foreign Service, Berlin). Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez was also invited and willing to take part in the discussion, but the Cuban authorities denied her a permission to leave the country. She therefore recorded a video message for the panel and the audience of the discussion which we reproduce here with her permission.