A conversation with Roberto Rigobon, PhD ’97, and Juan Pablo Armas, SM ’92

A conversation with Roberto Rigobon and Juan Pablo Armas, on the 10th Anniversary of the MIT Sloan Latin America Office.  Professor Rigobon and Juan Pablo share the experiences of creating and building the Latin American office, the first of its kind, the challenges of creating a unified and impactful venue for sharing ideas on such a large continent, with disparate economies, education systems, and politics.  They share how Andrónico Luksic pitched the idea to the Dean, and how local families and entrepreneurs kept it alive and vital. They also talk about recent challenges presented by COVID and the successes the office has achieved in the first decade.

Professor Rigobon talks about the unique South American connection, where despite great economic and political upheavals, involving things like 30% of the population of Venezuela scattered across the continent, there have never been refugee camps. They share that despite vigorous competition in things like soccer, when they meet as a council, they don't discuss the regular politics that concentrate on what you want to destroy, but rather they concentrate on what they want to build.  They acknowledge the same basic issues that are common across the continent, like poverty, access to technology, growth, development, and education.

They discuss the impact of giants like Arnoldo Hax and Rudi Dornbusch on recruiting students to MIT and how these students are now in positions of influence in major companies and positions of power in government. They talk about how the education those leaders received at MIT, the sparks that ignited while at MIT, and now continue to access through the MIT Sloan Latin American Office has and will continue to resonate in South America.

Finally, looking ahead, Professor Rigobon and Juan Pablo Armas explore South America's ongoing challenges in economies, industries, the environment, and education and how the MIT Sloan Latin American Office is positioned to contribute to the conversation at the highest levels of government and industry.