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OAS Secretary General Highlights "Historic Opportunity" for Development of the Americas

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today said at the final day of the Palm Beach Strategic Forum, that Latin America and the Caribbean countries are facing a "historic opportunity" for economic transformation and sustainable development, but warned that to take advantage of it they will have to address serious economic and social challenges.

At the event, organized by the International Economic Forum of the Americas, the leader of the hemispheric institution gave a lecture entitled " Growth, stability and democracy in Latin America," in which he emphasized that "although the region is rightly proud of its economic success during the last decade, it still has to grapple with the issue of how to achieve more inclusive societies."

The Secretary General noted that Latin America experienced rapid economic growth over the last ten years, based largely on external factors such as commodities prices, noting that, in parallel, the countries managed to reduce poverty and strengthen their democracies, which while “not perfect,” show that the region has made significant progress in recent decades. He added, however, that looking to the future, to maintain high growth rates, Latin America and the Caribbean will have to address serious economic and social challenges such as maintaining growth without relying on prices of raw materials; raising domestic savings and investment; improving competitiveness and stability to attract capital; reducing inequality; and improving education systems and extending their reach, among others.

In this context, Secretary General Insulza said the biggest challenge is that, "we have democratic governments, but weak states and institutions." He added that, from this perspective, "the main threat to democracy on our Hemisphere today is that the people democratically elect their rulers granted legitimacy, strength and will, but they face problems of poverty, inequality, disease and injustice supported only by weak institutions." Summarizing his idea, Insulza said that "the combination of weak institutions and strong rulers is never a stable combination."

The OAS leader concluded by noting that "these times of challenge are also times of opportunity."

The Palm Beach Strategic Forum is a nonprofit organization that promotes dialogue on national and global issues. Within the auspices of the International Economic Forum of the Americas, the event aims to promote an exchange of views and perspectives on current economic issues from global leaders, experts and entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the Forum´s mission is to address the major challenges of the new global economic order by focusing on the key role of the Americas in the global market. The Forum also seeks to provide a platform for business meetings in a wide range of sectors such as banking and finance, and to promote economic development.

In this year 's edition, which took place yesterday and today, the Forum was attended by personalities from around the world, including the former President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández; the Governor of Florida, Rick Scott; the Minister of Finance of Uganda, Maria Kiwanuka; the Chair of the Council of the Americas, John Negroponte; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Peru, Julio Velarde, among others.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-137/14