Cafiero before ECLAC: “Latin America and the Caribbean have tools to overcome this situation”
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Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said Wednesday that the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean “have tools to overcome this situation” marked by the consequences of the pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Cafiero spoke at the closing panel on the third day of the Assembly of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which takes place at the Kirchner Cultural Center (CCK) in the city of Buenos Aires.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs highlighted the “three days of intense work” at the organization’s 39th session and praised the presentation of the document “Towards the transformation of the development model of Latin America and the Caribbean,” which described “the context that plagues us, the consequences of the pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine, the environmental crisis and the weakening of globalization”.
In this regard, Cafiero pointed out that the region faces “historical gaps” in terms of inequality, production and gender, “which are added to the current problems.”
In this context, he valued “the roadmap proposed by ECLAC” which, in his opinion, “could not be more current” and which does not limit itself to describing the situation, but also presents “proposals and initiatives to overcome the crisis.”
For this reason, he maintained that “Latin American and Caribbean people have the tools to overcome this situation and generate the necessary knowledge and thus overcome all the ups and downs.”
Cafiero ratified what was stated at the opening of the Assembly by noting that “ECLAC was never a technocratic body, but rather challenged and challenged itself at the most interesting junctures” and stressed the importance of dialogue, “which enriches not only the debate but also the projections that make the region travel the path of economic development with social justice”.
“Heading for a Lost Decade”
During his speech, the executive secretary of ECLAC, José Salazar, assured that “the certainty is emerging that (the countries of the region) we are heading towards a lost decade”, with a drop in global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) similar to that of the depression of the 1930s.
“This reality accounts for important external shocks, but also for our deficiencies in the implementation of public policies,” he warned.
He also pointed out that the objective of the countries of the region “cannot be to be satisfied with returning to the situation prior to the pandemic”, but, in addition, “it is about moving forward and being inclusive societies.”
“The certainty that we are heading towards a lost decade is emerging,” said the head of ECLAC
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In this regard, he identified ten priority areas on ECLAC’s agenda: productivity, employment and inclusive growth; fight against inequality; social gaps; vocational education and training; sustainability and climate change; digital transformation; migrations; regional economic integration; gender equality and macroeconomic and financial stability.
Salazar, who assumed the leadership of ECLAC at the beginning of October, presented the document “Towards the transformation of the development model in Latin America and the Caribbean”, in which he warned about the need to take urgent measures since “there is the certainty that we are heading towards a lost decade”.
In this sense, he pointed out that “there is no place for gradual changes”, especially due to the rush to address the situation of millions of inhabitants in conditions of extreme poverty.
