President Leonel Fernandez and the head of the Organization of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza both spoke at the opening of the XXIII Model Session of the General Assembly of the OAS held at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD)’s Aula Magna. More than 300 students from across the Americas were present at the opening ceremony. Both principal speakers expressed the same opinions about the nature of democracy. Fernandez said that social disparities cause greater tensions and difficulties for any democratic system, and he criticized the fact that many democratic systems do not provide the most basic services to their citizenry. In his speech, OAS Secretary General Insulza told the students that some of the top priorities in the region were to guarantee the safety of the citizens, promote democracy and respect human rights. He was emphatic in his call for governments to place special attention on the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and “common crime.” Both speakers mentioned the fact that in Latin America there were no perfect democracies, and that poverty, with the lack of adequate housing and access to education, was one of the most important challenges facing the region. Both men pointed out that elections were not the only characteristics of a democracy. Insulza emphasized the need for achieving the Millennium Objectives in order to achieve working democracies. Once the speeches were over, the President, together with the First Lady and the OAS Secretary General, spent a couple of hours talking with the students and having photos taken.