The "Caminos de la Libertad" Pro-Freedom Organization of Grupo Salinas Presents its "Una Vida por la Libertad" Award …

MEXICO CITY, Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Salinas, through its Caminos de la Libertad pro-freedom program, is proud to announce that this year's "Una Vida por la Libertad" (A life for freedom) prize was awarded to former Soviet Union President Mikjail Gorbachev for political reform that gave economic, religious and personal freedom to millions of people.

The prize was awarded by Grupo Salinas Founder and Chairman Ricardo B. Salinas Pliego.

"Freedom is a difficult issue, a very sweet word but the road is bitter. However, I feel that as long as my heart beats and I maintain clarity of thought, we must act and continue what we started," said former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev upon receiving the award.

"A life for Freedom" (Una vida por la libertad) was awarded as part of the essay contest "Caminos de la Libertad" to recognize leaders who have dedicated their lives to defend freedom. It was created at the behest of Ricardo B. Salinas Pliego to motivate the defense of the concept of freedom for the benefit of society. Past recipients of the award have been former President of Spain Felipe Gonzalez and Nobel Prize-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa.

The "Caminos de la Libertad" essay contest has grown in six years as a space that contributes to reflection on freedom, and has also taken on international importance through seminars, symposia, lectures, round-table panel discussions and through its website (www.caminosdelalibertad.com).

Since its first edition, this contest has received entries from throughout the Americas and Europe. The current competition received 653 essays from countries that included: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Mexico, Spain, United States, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The awards were cash prizes of US$15,000 for first place, US$10,000 for second place and US$5,000 for third place. The winner of the student category received US$5,000.

WINNERS: First place: Guillermo Rodriguez Gonzalez Essay: "Free of envy: the legitimization of envy as moral axiom of socialism"

Second place: Martin Krause Essay: "Freedom and poverty"

Third place: Axel Kaiser Barents Von Hohenhagen Essay: "Liberalism: the true and the false"

Originally posted here:
The "Caminos de la Libertad" Pro-Freedom Organization of Grupo Salinas Presents its "Una Vida por la Libertad" Award ...