What is the explanation for Latin America’s position within the international system and what are the opportunities and challenges posed by globalization?

This is one of the questions posed in a project supported by Daniel Chavez Moran and the Vidanta Foundation in cooperation with the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Scholarly articles written over a period of two years were presented and analyzed in three workshops held in Washington, D.C., Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico and Mexico City.

The primary objective that propelled the foundation project was to provide a preeminent study of Latin America’s position in the international system, the main opportunities and challenges the world order of the first decades of the 21st century poses to the region, as well as the status of and trends in intraregional relations with special emphasis on the factors that block Latin American integration and cooperation.

Chavez Moran and the Vidanta Foundation compiled the articles and thoughts of prominent international analysts and scholars on Latin American international relations in a book edited by Ricardo Lagos. The book “América Latina:¿integración o fragmentación?” was published by Editorial Edhasa (Buenos Aires). For more information on this study and other foundation publications, visit: http://www.fundacionvidanta.org.

Daniel Chavez Moran's Inspiration

Daniel Chavez Moran’s work with the Vidanta Group Foundation has possible because of the three decades of success in business before his 2005 retirement. Chavez Moran is committed to bettering the countries of Latin America by helping them meet their business and economic obstacles.

Success did not come without challenges for Moran. A case was brought against Daniel Chavez Moran and Grupo Mayan Palace, which is one of the first luxury resorts he established in 1974. The case was submitted in 2008. Daniel Chavez Moran succeeded in defending his adherence to moral and ethical principles for his business practices as well as his high standards for customer service. A U.S. federal district judge sided with Chavez Moran, dismissing the plaintiff’s case in its entirety against Daniel Chavez Moran, Grupo Mayan Palace and the other vindicated defendants, Desarollo Marina Vallarta S.A. de C.V., Daniel Omar Chavez, Scott R Erikson, Casey Jon Owens, Canamere Inc., Huffsmith-Kohrville Inc., Preferred Vacations Inc., Premium Travel Services Inc., Resort Solutions Inc., Seven Oceans US Inc., AZM Marketing LLC, Resort Quality Controls Inc., Resort Condominiums International LLC, and Resorts International Marketing Corp.

The customer’s rights were championed in Grupo Mayan Palace’s contracts, and the vacation ownership purchase decision was solely at the customer’s judgment, ruled the judge. The plaintiff filed no appeal, with the claim successfully defeated. There have been no other case filed since against Chavez Moran or Grupo Mayan Palace,which is now known as Mayan Resorts.

Mayan Resorts has more than 20 top leisure developments in Latin America established to cater to vacationing needs of its members and users. Daniel Chavez Moran is now focused in furthering his philanthropic ventures like, Fundación Delia Moran A.C. and the Vidanta Group Foundation.

Daniel Chavez Moran Recycles

Prior to his 2005 retirement and throughout his 36-year career, Daniel Chavez Moran worked heavily towards conservation and preservation practices as a builder of five-star hotels, resorts and golf courses through out Latin America. Chavez Moran is now sharing these resource- and money-saving suggestions with other entrepreneurs looking for energy and waste reduction ideas:

• Capture and use recycled water for irrigation
• Avoiding irrigating during peak sun hours to minimize evaporation
• Install water-conserving toilets, faucets and showers to reduce water consumption

• Use special laundry agents that allow linens to be washed at a lower temperature
• Look for suppliers that use less cardboard and plastic in their products
• Compost organic wastes for landscape and garden maintenance
• Separate and recycle aluminum, paper, plastic, metal and glass to sell to suppliers
• Implement eco-friendly LED lighting, and use solar heating systems to heat water and pool facilities.

• Control in-room air conditioning and lighting consumption during off hours
• Review utility consumption monthly and devise an action plan to reduce it
• Close unused rooms and sections of buildings to reduce air conditioning and electricity consumption

Daniel Chavez Moran enjoys nature and works to preserve it.

Daniel Chavez Moran remains dedicated to environmental preservation and is very proud of the persistent efforts of the Vidanta Group management team to guard threatened and endangered species, even though he is now retired.

A few of the Mayan Group Resort brands are members of En Advance, which gathers efforts for the stewardship of the natural ecology of Mexico and the protection of the marine turtle, which helps to remove this species from the threat of extinction. Both the Acapulco and Riviera Maya resort locations actively work together to protect that turtles are born and that the species survive.

Sea turtles lay their eggs on the beaches, at the Mayan Palace Resort, sometimes more than 80 a night. This takes place from October until December, which has turned freeing baby turtles into an activity for guests. This an educational and exciting activity that sustains the natural habitat and educates guests about the Mayan Group’s preservation efforts.

Daniel Chavez Moran worked hard throughout his career to make the dreams of others come true. Now retired, he continues to do so today through his dedication to Fundación Delia Moran A.C. and the Grupo Vidanta Foundation.

A 2008 challenge to Daniel Chavez Moran’s reputation was dismissed by a U.S. federal district judge in a case against Chavez Moran and Grupo Mayan Palace, a luxury destination location he first developed in 1974.

The court did not agree with any single argument made by the plaintiff against Daniel Chavez Moran, Grupo Mayan Palace and the other vindicated defendants, Desarollo Marina Vallarta S.A. de C.V., Daniel Omar Chavez, Scott R Erikson, Casey Jon Owens, Canamere Inc., Huffsmith-Kohrville Inc., Preferred Vacations Inc., Premium Travel Services Inc., Resort Solutions Inc., Seven Oceans US Inc., AZM Marketing LLC, Resort Quality Controls Inc., Resort Condominiums International LLC, and Resorts International Marketing Corp.

Before throwing out the case in its entirety, the court carefully reviewed all of the plaintiff’s claims. The judge found that customers’ rights were protected in the plain language of the vacation ownership contracts and that customers maintained a strong bargaining position. No appeal of the 2008 decision was filed, and no other case has since been filed against Chavez Moran or Grupo Mayan Palace, now known as Mayan Resorts.

With over 20 top leisure developments offering a wide range of products to meet the unique vacation needs of its members and users, Mayan Resorts has grown since its founding by Daniel Chavez Moran in 1974, and its reputation for quality customer has been upheld for over three decades.

Daniel Chavez Moran is pleased to share the beauty of the Sea of Cortez in Mexico with visitors from all over the Americas, since enjoying his retirement. Best known as “the world’s aquarium” and appointed a World Heritage Site, the Sea of Cortez is famous for its beaches, water sports, fishing, lovely weather and wildlife, which include migrating  birds and whales.

Located along the northern coastline, Puerto Peñasco, renowned by residents of the Southwest as Rocky Point or even Arizona’s Beach because of its proximity to Phoenix and Tucson, is experiencing dramatic expansion. The private sector and the Mexican government have conducted big investments to the region, constructing hotels, resorts, recreational facilities,  a couple of golf courses, homes and infrastructure.

Vacationing at Puerto Peñasco has been made easier now thanks to the new Mar de Cortes (Sea of Cortez) International Airport, which is the first all privately built airport in Mexico. This destination is now less than an hour by air from Phoenix, and less than two hours from Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Albuquerque thanks in part to all the improvements.

Daniel Chavez Moran Welcomes

Before retiring to focus on his philanthropic work with the Vidanta Group Foundation (Fundación Grupo Vidanta) in 2005, Daniel Chavez Moran recommended green business practices at the Vidanta Group’s real estate and resort development properties. Moran recognized a sustainable economic future for Latin America contains preserving and conserving the natural beauty of the environment.

The Vidanta Group Mayan properties still have these strict energy and waste conservation procedures to this day. Daniel Chavez Moran is pleased with this continuing responsibility to the environment by the executive team who now lead the Vidanta Group. In fact, the 2010 WQC International Star Award of the 24th Annual World Quality Commitment in Paris, was given to the Grand Mayan resort. The Grand Mayan was acknowledged in the “Gold Category,” the highest level of international standards for respecting the environment, and for the community in which the resort operates, along with its sustainability, customer service and competitive pricing.

Daniel Chavez Moran Helps

The Vidanta Group Foundation and Daniel Chavez Moran academic works that encourage economic expansion and the fortification democracy in Latin America. A passage from “Falling Behind: Explaining the Development Gap between the United States and Latin America,” published by the Vidanta Group in 2008, gives future generations lessons from the past:

“Prior to the arrival of Europeans in 1492, many parts of Latin America were richer than North America. Colonization, it is widely agreed, had a devastating impact on the welfare of the indigenous pre-Columbian populations in Mexico and the Andean region, as the Spanish set up an empire to extract gold, silver, and other commodities, much in the same way that the British and French colonization devastated the smaller number of indigenous peoples in North America. But initial conditions were not all that different in the two halves of the New World, in terms of either per capita income or economic structure. Both regions were predominantly agricultural economies and commodity exporters to the more-developed parts of the world. This situation persisted more or less through the end of the eighteenth century and the emergence of an independent United States of America.”

The book analyzes the politics of the underdevelopment, the historical background, and the institutional components developing the gap between the Latin America of today and North America.

Daniel Chavez Moran promotes community organizations that look to better the lives of those in need.

A Roof for My Country (Un Techo para Mi Pais), was formed in 1999 in Chile and has been hard at work to improve housing for unprivileged populations, benefitting 43,000 families in 14 countries. Communities of the Earth (Comunidades de la Tierra) has sponsored the development of rural businesses and the formation of community groups to help the low income communities of Guatemala since 2004. Both of the two groups have been recognized as second- and third-place winners of the 2010 Vidanta Group Foundation Prize.

Daniel Chavez Moran helping decrease poverty.

Daniel Chavez Moran 2010 Winner Announced

The first place prize of $100,000 USD was awarded in 2010 to Fundación Mundo Mujer (Women’s World Foundation) by the Vidanta Group Foundation. The Women’s World Foundation has provided credit for low-income women and men, micro-entrepreneurs for the informal sector of the economy and independent workers in Columbia since 1985.

Daniel Chavez Moran and the Vidanta Group Foundation awarded the Fundación Mundo Mujer for the opportunities it builds for its 293,000 clients, 60 percent of whom are female. The group’s achievements included: profit growth by 45 percent; product quality raised by 80 percent; quality of life, nutrition and clothing improvement by 50 percent; and a 35 percent increase in housing quality.

Daniel Chavez Moran acknowledges he is looking forward to once again acknowledging the achievements of other organizations this year like the 2010 first-place winner Fundación Mundo Mujer, the second-place winner Un Techo para Mi Pais, Chile (A Roof for My Country), and the third-place winner Comunidades de la Tierra, Guatemala (Communities of the Earth), with the 2011 Foundation Prize. Applications are available until May 31, 2011 with the awards to be released in November 2011.