The Philippines: Walden Bello
In October 2003 Walden Bello, a long-time friend and colleague of Inter Pares, was awarded the Right Livelihood Award. The award, often referred to as the "alternative Nobel Prize", recognizes Walden's lifelong commitment to human rights, peace, and environmental activism, and his leading role in articulating international economic alternatives based on equity and justice.
Walden, born in the Philippines, was studying at Princeton University when Ferdinand Marcos took power in 1972. Over the next 15 years Walden became a leading figure in the movement to restore democracy in the Philippines. He was arrested and jailed on several occasions by American authorities for his non-violent protests against the Marcos dictatorship. The Marcos regime cancelled his passport and for a time Walden was essentially stateless.
After the fall of the Marcos dictatorship, Walden became a leading figure in the critique of international financial institutions and their role in subjugating the economies of developing countries. He is the author of thirteen books, many of them outlining alternative models of international trade and development financing.
Walden is currently a senior analyst at the Philippines think-tank Focus on the Global South, a fellow of the Transnational Institute, and Akbayan representative in the Filipino Congress.
Inter Pares has supported and collaborated with Focus on the Global South since its inception in 1995.
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