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OAS Secretary General: "Democracy is better than ever in the region"

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, asserted that democracy is healthier than ever in the region and, while noting that there are specific challenges that must be addressed such as institutional strengthening, he added that for the first time in the history of the Hemisphere there are 34 countries with democratic governments.

On the last day of the XVIII Annual Conference of the Development Bank in Latin America (CAF), the OAS and the Inter-American Dialogue, in a panel on the 20th Anniversary of the Summits of the Americas, Secretary General Insulza recalled that the meetings of heads of state and government of the region were created to discuss various issues related to the Hemisphere’s integration and not exclusively, as erroneously believed, to discuss economic matters.

Two decades after the first hemispheric conclave, he continued, these debates have had a positive impact as the 34 countries, which participated in the event in 2012 in Cartagena de Indias, today have democratic regimes. "This is not told, but never before in the region has democracy been as widespread as in the past two decades," he said.

The head of the OAS also noted with appreciation, as another key element in the political evolution of the region over the past last 20 years, the adoption in 2001, within the hemispheric institution, of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which he described as "a major democracy program."

The Secretary General pursued his analysis by noting that democratic development has been positive in all cases, but has also uneven. "There are countries that are more advanced in terms of democracy, and there are others that face issues with freedom of expression and the independence of the Judiciary," he added. To explain the reasons for that imbalance, he quoted the Argentine political expert Guillermo O'Donnell, who analyzed the problem of “warlordism” in Latin America and argued that the concept of accountability “is relatively new."

In that context, Secretary General Insulza rejected the view of those who are in favor of intervening in the internal affairs of countries. "The time for intervention is over; we must now give priority to dialogue; issues must be solved through political dialogue," he strongly stated.

With regard to the Summits of the Americas’ thematic discussion, the OAS Secretary General said that there is consensus in the region that the main and most immediate goal should be to work towards social inclusion in order to end inequality.

Regarding the debate on inviting Cuba to the next Summit, which will take place in Panama in 2015, Secretary General Insulza indicated that it is the host country "who determines the agenda and the participants," and expressed his support to the inclusion of the Caribbean country. Making an analogy with another key issue, he noted that there "seems to be consensus that the war on drugs over the last 40 years has not worked; what to say then about a blockade against Cuba, which is 52 years old?."

The OAS Secretary General also referred to the OAS Special General Assembly that will be held on September 19 in Guatemala City to discuss the drug problem. "We are on track to reach agreement on four areas: drugs are a public health issue; we must rely on alternative sanctions before to incarceration; it is necessary to reaffirm the fight against organized crime; and we have to support institutional building." To illustrate the advances made in the focus on open debate by the OAS Report on the Drug Problem in the Americas (Analytical Report and Scenarios Report ), he described as a move forward the fact that "at present, the United States no longer speaks of the war on drugs," meaning that policies to deal with the phenomenon have changed.

Latin America and Global Integration

The keynote speaker on the second day of the XVIII Annual Conference of the CAF was former Secretary General of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) and former President of the Inter-American Development Bank Enrique Iglesias, who spoke on "the processes of global integration and insertion of Latin America". The Uruguayan politician and economist said that currently "the world is in a process of great instability, great potential conflicts," mentioning as an example the situation in the Middle East, North Africa, the border between Russia and Ukraine, or the South China Sea. In that context, he said, "the United States has a tendency to retreat, creating a significant gap. It is a dangerous world with components that have been triggered, such as the religious component, and with struggles that are reminiscent of the Middle Ages."

Parallel to this, he said "we are facing the greatest economic power redistribution in the history of mankind, from West to East and from North to South," citing the emergence of two mega-treaties with free-trade negotiations between the United States, Canada and the European Union on the one hand, and the free-trade talks among a dozen countries bordering the Pacific Ocean, among which are the United States, Japan, Australia and several Latin American countries. In this regard, Iglesias call for unity in the region and regretted that the region is divided into two blocks—one made up of countries that look toward the Atlantic, and the other of countries that look toward the Pacific.

The Uruguayan politician declared himself as an “enthusiast" of the Hemisphere’s integration and said the region must bet on its domestic market. "Today we need integration more than ever. First, we need to increase Latin America’s industrialization; it will balance our growth, which is going to come from labor, knowledge, and technology, he said, adding that the region still has a pending matter: “Educational reform is the great challenge of Latin America."

The region 20 years after the First Summit

Participating in the discussion on challenges twenty years after the first Summit of the Americas, aside from the OAS Secretary General, were the former President of Panama, Martín Torrijos; the Advisor to the President of Brazil for Foreign Policy, Marco Aurelio García; the former Adviser to President Bill Clinton, Thomas McLarty III; and the Ambassador of Colombia to the United Nations, Maria Emma Mejia.

Marco Aurelio García stated the he was against intervening in the countries’ internal political processes and noted that his country "has a zero tolerance" for this practice, which is in agreement with Secretary General Insulza’s view on relying on "political dialogue" to reach consensus. In this regard, he recalled how, for example, through political dialogue, the internal crisis in Bolivia in 2008 and the confrontation between Colombia and Ecuador on that same year were resolved.

Meanwhile, McLarty recalled that the second Summit of the Americas held in Chile in 1998 bet on the Free-Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), but the project was rejected at the Summit of Mar del Plata in 2005. McLarty also referred to the focus of President Obama’s drug policy and noted his "commitment to education."

Former President Torrijos referred to the upcoming Summit of the Americas, which his country will host next year, and expressed his hope that all countries of the region, including Cuba, will participate in it. "Hopefully, the Summit can demonstrate that in the region there is unity in diversity."

Ambassador Mejía recalled that the debate on the inclusion of Cuba had been initiated at the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena in 2012 when several countries warned that if Havana was left out of the Summit, they would not go to Colombia. Only through the efforts of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, the meeting was held with the understanding that the next Summit would take place with the participation of Cuba.

“Latin American Economic Outlook: Is the Party Over?”

The third session of the annual Conference that opened this morning and was moderated by the President of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), Enrique García, included a discussion on the economic outlook for Latin America that was attended by senior representatives of regional and global financial institutions, ministers of economy, academics and economists who emphasized the importance of accelerating the growth of the region and of investing in productivity, integration, competitiveness, infrastructure, and industrialization.

The President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), Luis Alberto Moreno, opened the dialogue with an analysis of the growth opportunities of Latin America and the Caribbean and said that the main challenge for the region is to increase productivity creating employment and “with an education that addresses the gap between skills and the labor market." In his opinion, it is necessary and urgent to invest in infrastructure and competitiveness, to access world consumption chains and to balance social solidarity with economic growth "taking into consideration that today about 50% of the Latin American population belongs to the middle class."

The Director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Alejandro Werner, warned of the sharp decline in economic activity some nations of the Americas will face and of at least a 2% reduction of the region’s growth prospects for 2014, which will constitute the lowest growth over the last 13 years. In the political area, Werner insisted on the challenge that governments will face to adequately respond to people’s expectations and asserted that "there is a large scope for increasing the efficiency of government programs to reduce poverty and generate greater income."

The Minister of Economy and Finance of Uruguay, Mario Bergara, spoke of the need to strengthen states and markets without overestimating the interdependence between the two. "There is no opposition between state and market, and the challenge is how the state can support stronger markets and foster growth and productivity," he said. He further noted that the role of states includes “guiding with incentives, rather than orders, investment processes based on innovation and technology, and fostering investment along with social equity and stability, which are key ingredient for business environment." He added that factors such as high demand for primary commodities and sustained economic stability over several years allowed the countries of the region "to sail quietly amid one of the greatest economic crises in history."

The Managing Director of the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), João Carlos Ferraz, spoke of the challenges related to the efficiency of investment, quality of education, consumption patterns and demand. "From the standpoint of mass consumption, the way ahead is substantial, not only for the emerging middle class that should be offered more opportunities, but also to create markets that are economically relevant," he stated. With regard to the social structure, he said that “in the region, we have societies with many prejudices against the emerging middle class and, thus, it is necessary to promote solidarity with societies that have more collective and less individualistic approaches." He also agreed with previous speakers regarding the need to invest in infrastructure,” as long as it is “a long-term, coordinated investment that has an impact on a growth ecosystem based on benefits for many."

Jorge Familiar, Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank, said that education, entrepreneurship and innovation must be at the core of the hemispheric development agenda. He recalled that for the first time in the history of the region, the middle class is larger than the number of people living under the poverty line, "40% of the Latin American population is vulnerable to poverty, and we cannot let them fall below that line," he added. He also recalled the importance of protecting and taking advantage of achievements in the social area so they can benefit all. He further stressed the need to use countries’ natural resources wisely for the benefit of the general population, and he urged governments o consider the implementation of structural reforms aimed at developing social protection and fighting inequality.

The former Minister of Finance of Colombia and professor at Columbia University, José Antonio Ocampo, spoke on how integration and industrialization constitute processes of progress for Latin America and defended the need to include them with efforts in the areas of science, technology and quality education. He also called for moving forward with a "serious regional integration" that includes the opening of markets, the exchange of knowledge through education and communication networks, while looking to domestic markets as an important opportunity for growth. "Natural resources need be exploited well and Latin America must reindustrialize to take better advantage of them," he concluded.

The fourth session of the Conference entitled "Oil, Gas, and Renewables: Shifts in the Global Energy Matrix and its Impact on Latin America" analyzed the sources, future and challenges of regional energy markets at the global level and its impact on the countries’ development. The session was moderated by the former Minister of Chile, Genaro Arriagada, and featured the participation of the former Governor of New Mexico and former Secretary of the US Department of Energy, Bill Richardson; the Administrator of the US Energy Information Administration, Adam Sieminski; the President of the State Energy Research Agency of Brazil, Mauricio Tolmasquim; the former Managing Director of the Asian Development Bank, Rajat M. Nag; the Global Head of Commodities Research at Citigroup, Ed Morse; and the visiting Professor at Harvard University and Founder and Director of the Center on Energy and the Environment at IESA in Venezuela, Francisco Monaldi.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

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

Reference: E-355/14