Broward could house Latin American presidential library

Palm Beach has Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago and John F. Kennedy’s former estate. Miami-Dade County is home to Richard Nixon’s Key Biscayne compound.

But it’s Broward County that’s looking to land South Florida’s first presidential library. It just won’t be for a U.S. president.

Instead, it will house the work of leaders from countries in Latin America and the Caribbean who have promoted democracy. Don’t expect it to feature dictators like former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega or others who used their office to enrich themselves.

“We even talked about having a Hall of Shame, shining a light on the corruption, too,” said Thomas Field, executive director of a group of about 30 former South and Central American presidents who are promoting the library. Why put it in Broward? “A lot of people thought Latin America, maybe Mexico, Brazil or Chile,” said Field, who is based in Paraguay. “But none of those countries really represent the whole continent. … The idea [turned toward] thinking more about the U.S., thinking more southern Florida, which is really the doorway to Latin America.”

Latin countries don’t have the tradition of presidential libraries. And planners aren’t envisioning something as grandiose as the Ronald Reagan Library, which includes the original Air Force One used by Reagan during his administration.

Still, the Latin American Presidential Library and Center would do more than house presidential papers and mementos. It would be a cultural and educational center with exhibits that could appeal to tourists, students and others interested in the region. One goal would be for the center to host conferences and lectures on Latin American and Caribbean topics — and to involve former presidents of those countries.

“They feel it’s their mission to share their knowledge and experience with others,” Field said.

Broward commissioners on Tuesday agreed to help the group find a spot for the center. Field’s organization, the Latin American Presidential Mission of the nonprofit Global Peace Foundation, would be in charge of fundraising to pay for the center and operate it, but that has not begun yet.

The library would focus on “democratically elected presidents of Latin America and the Caribbean from 1970 to the present,” the agreement with the county says.

Promoters are looking at the Broward County Convention Center, which is supposed to be expanded by more than 400,000 square feet, as a potential home.

Broward Commissioner Dale Holness, a leading force behind the annual Florida International Trade and Cultural Expo, said the expanded convention center would be the perfect location because of its proximity to the port and airport.

“Our primary economic engine for Broward County is tourism. It’s practically impossible for us to build a center and not attract tourists to the center,” Holness said. “It becomes a point where people come from all over the world.”

The library wouldn’t be able to include every one of the 145 presidents who served democracy in Latin America in the 20th century. Proponents consider it important to document the process “that radically transformed the destiny of the region.”

And they expect it to grow.

“It’s our hope to make something so attractive for the presidents … that when any president finishes his term, his first stop would be the presidential library center,” Field said.