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´The Foundation held its last event for the year 2001 on December 19th with an International Conference at the Argentine Catholic University on which Dr Carlos Rodriguez Braun offered "Lessons from Spain for the argentine economic crisis". That very evening the pot banging "cacerolazo" protest led Mr Domingo Cavallo to resign to his Economy Minister position followed, a day later, by the President, Mr Fernando de la Rua. As you are well aware, from that moment on, major political and economic changes took place in Argentina. Fundación Atlas para una Sociedad Libre defined its position by writing Articles on Current Events and with a presentation at the Argentine American Cultural Institute.

In the three month period since that date, 22 Articles on Current Events were given wide distribution compared to a total of 29 posted on the web page in almost 2 years. Many of these Articles on Current Events were printed by newspapers: three in La Nación and one in BAE (Buenos Aires Económico) from Argentina; one in the Nuevo Herald from Miami and another one in La Tercera from Chile. Furthermore, several papers by members of Fundación Atlas were mentioned in a number of newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, the Washingon Times and El Pais from Spain. In addition, economists at Fundación Atlas were comissioned to write a report about the argentine crisis by the Cato Institute, one of the most influential free market think tank in the United States of America.

In light of the difficult situation faced by the country Fundación Atlas organized a mid summer seminar about "Key Factors to understand the current argentine economic crisis: How are we doing? How did we get here? What's the way out?", attended by 130 people and presented exclusively by Fundación Atlas' staff.. Aditionally, in the month of March, the seminar "Institutions and Economic Policy" was held at ESEADE business school with the participation of Dr Ricardo M. Rojas and Dr. Martin Krause.

Accompaning the political developments of January, every Monday of that month saw the Special Reports for the TV aired on the show hosted by journalist Carlos Mira, on the cable channel Politica y Economia. Viewers had the chance to see: "The Fourth World War" with the best parts of Carlos Alberto Montaner's International Conference; "Cuba: Socialism and Death"; "Cuba and the International Terrorism"; "Economics and Prosperity"; and "Vote Spoiling and Political Reform".

As a result of this intense agenda a great number of suscriptions to the Complimentary News Service delivered by email took place: almost 400 new suscribers, bringing the total of suscriptions to this service to 1200. In other words, a 50% increase in just three months. Moreover, invitations to make presentations were received by the researchers of Fundación Atlas from places as diverse as Lomas de Zamora, Argentina to Guayaquil, Ecuador. From Santiago de Chile to Porto Alegre, Brazil.

The financing strategy for the current year has been the object of intense work as well. Companies face hard times and this has resulted in a decline in the number of sponsors to carry out the educational activities of Fundación Atlas. However, the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation has been confirmed to sponsor the educational programs: "Economics and the Media" and "Extracurricular Activities on Social Sciences". Atlas Economic Research Foundation will sponsor the "Economic Research and Situation Analysis".

The generous help of the founding members, Guillermo M. Yeatts and José A. Esteves Jr, has allowed Fundación Atlas to finance the "Public Policy Solutions" contest. The best report on each of the 20 subject matters contestants can choose from will be awarded a US$ 500 prize.

In order to promote the activities of Fundación Atlas before wider audiences in the interior of the country, a number of individuals collaborate in the role of Representatives in their respective areas of residence: Mr Guillermo Covernton in Rosario,Mr Alberto Medina Mendez in Corrientes, Mr Pablo Salort in Cordoba, Mr Javier de la Colina in Mendoza, Mr Sergio Rosa in San Juan and Mr Daniel Darrieux in Neuquen.

The difficult times the country experiences mean have strengthented Fundación Atlas' commitment to its mission. This requires steady and responsible work that needs the support of all lovers of liberty interested in the future of Argentina.

In order to simplify the payment and to considerably increase the number of Individual Contributions of those living in Argentina, Fundación Atlas has signed an agreement with VISA that will allow supporters to have their contributions debited monthly from their credit card. Those who make Individual Contributions in the form of Supporting, Sponsor or Benefactor Members, contribute to the accomplishment of Fundación Atlas' mission and receive a series of benefits according to their membership status. The goal of the agreement with VISA is to have a number of members that guarantee a monthly income to support the vital work of Fundación Atlas in defense of individual liberty, free market economy and limited government.

Supporting Members, those who contribute $100 yearly or $10 monthly debited to their VISA, receive all printed publications edited by Fundación Atlas: Informe Económico (monthly, starting April 2002), Mercado Libre (quarterly), Política Pública (20 reports are expected to be published this year), Burocratómetro (quarterly) and Documentos del Centro (Occasionally). The following benefits can be highlighted from the new rates chart: Supporting Members will have a 50% discount in the activities that involve the payment of fees, Sponsor Members will be able to attend free of charge and Benefactor Members will be able to participate in Monthly Economic Analyisis Meetings.

A detailed list of all benefits Members receive can be found in the new form for Individual Contributions, available at:
http://www.atlas.org.ar/aportesindividuales/default.asp

Those who wish to become Members or make a contribution but don´t live in Argentina can contact: atlas@atlas.org.ar for more details.

We believe Fundación Atlas is crucial for the future of Argentina, as I´m sure you do. If such is the case, we are inviting our foreign friends like you to support our mission with an extraordinary payment that will let us keep up with our hard work in Argentina. Should you want to support us, just send us a check to Fundación Atlas para una sociedad libre, for the amount of money you would be willing to contribute with.