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OAS Panel Debates the Impact of Good Governance and Economic Development

Experts and leaders from the continent met today at the Organization of American States (OAS) on the tenth anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter to debate good governance and its impact on economic development and business, in one of the panels of the seminar “The Role of the Private Sector and Civil and Other Actors in Supporting Democracy,” which the hemispheric Organization put together alongside the Working Group on Poverty, Development and Democracy of the Community of Democracies, led by the governments of Chile and Italy.

Attending the panel, which was moderated by the OAS Secretary for Political Affairs, Víctor Rico, were the First Lady of El Salvador and Secretary of Social Inclusion, Vanda Guiomar Pignato, and the Vice President of the Council of the Americas, Eric Farnsworth.

The First Lady of El Salvador assessed the broadening of the Inter-American Democratic Charter because not only is it centered around “electoral events,” but it also “recognizes that democracy, economic growth, and social development and equity are interdependent elements which are mutually reinforcing.”

Furthermore, the Salvadoran authority highlighted that “social and economic growth” can’t make progress only through the support of the State, but rather it should rely on relentless support from the private sector, which is the one that contributes to “the creation of wealth”. The State, Pignato explained, “takes part in the distribution of wealth and the support of social development.” She added that “if democracy and economic growth are interdependent, this requires a clear understanding and continuous dialogue between the State and the private sector. Both can find a very valuable meeting point in the commitment in favor of vulnerable groups and in preventing all forms of discrimination.”

The Salvadoran First Lady specified that the role of the private sector in democratic sustainability is “the promotion of investment and the active citizen participation in the definition and response to the model of society required, for the present as much as the future.” Nevertheless, that “liberty,” she added, “is not a citizen charter to conspire against democracy,” nor is it a State that is “fraudulent, that plays with certainty and security.”

The Vice President of the Council of the Americas, Eric Farnsworth, centered his address on how governments can work with the private sector “to create the conditions that build strong societies and support democratic institutions,” and concluded that one way to achieve this is to focus on an “investment climate,” consisting of “well established rules” where people can understand “the conditions under which investments are being made and why they are made and how they are being made.”

Another way, explained Farnsworth, is through “the creation of jobs.” “When the economy is growing and people have good, well paying jobs, where they have health care and they have access to social services,” their interest in the system is awakened and democratic institutions prosper.

Farnsworth also emphasized the role and the responsibility that the private sector plays as a tax payer, as “they are critically important for the growth of society.” In that sense, the expert affirmed that the State should simplify the process of tax paying, starting by simplifying tax codes. He declared that “one way to build democracy in the region is to simplify tax codes and make sure that they are fair and transparent and then one can work in terms of ensuring that people are paying their taxes.”

A gallery of photos of the event will be available here.

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

Reference: E-632/11