This love of liberty has long roots in our own hemisphere. Not long after the United States won its independence from Britain, patriots throughout the Americas were inspired to take their own stand. One of them was an Argentine general named Jose de San Martin. During the struggle for independence from Spain, the general declared, "In the last corner of the earth that I might find myself, I will be ready to sacrifice my existence for liberty."San Martin's dream of liberty has found a home in the Organization of American States. This organization's founding documents calls the Americas to its "historic mission to offer to man a land of liberty, and a favorable environment for the realization of his just aspirations." That mission was given its clear direction in the Inter-American Democratic Charter declaring that "the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote it and defend it." And today what was once a distant dream is now within our reach: an Americas wholly free and democratic and at peace with ourselves and our neighbors.
In the new Americas of the 21st century, democracy is now the rule, rather than the exception. Think of the dramatic changes we have seen in our lifetime. In 1974, the last time the OAS General Assembly met in the United States, fewer than half its members had democratically elected governments. Today, all 34 countries participating in this General Assembly have democratic, constitutional governments. Only one country in this hemisphere sits outside this society of democratic nations -- and one day the tide of freedom will reach Cuba's shores, as well. (Applause.) The great Cuban patriot Jose Marti said it best: La libertad no es negociable.
The dramatic gains for democracy we have witnessed in our hemisphere must not be taken for granted. Democratic change and free elections are exhilarating events. Yet we know from experience they can be followed by moments of uncertainty. When people risk everything to vote, it can raise expectations that their lives will improve immediately -- but history teaches us that the path to a free and prosperous society is long and not always smooth. Each nation must follow its own course, according to its own history. Yet the old and new democracies of the Americas share a common interest in showing every citizen of our hemisphere that freedom brings not just peace -- it brings a better life for themselves and their families.
In the new Americas of the 21st century, bringing a better life to our people requires choosing between two competing visions. One offers a vision of hope -- it is founded on representative government, integration into the world markets, and a faith in the transformative power of freedom in individual lives. The other seeks to roll back the democratic progress of the past two decades by playing to fear, pitting neighbor against neighbor, and blaming others for their own failures to provide for their people. The choices we make will determine which vision will define the Americas our children inherit -- we must make tough decisions today to ensure a better tomorrow.
To give our children a better tomorrow, our citizens must see that democracy delivers more than promises. They need to see in their daily lives that their hard work and enterprises are rewarded. They need to see that in a democratic society, people can walk in the streets in safety, corruption is punished, and all citizens are equal before the law. And when the people of the Americas see that opportunity and social mobility are real, they will know that in a free and democratic society, the only limit to how far they can go is the size of their dreams.
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