SANTIAGO, 29 January 2009: The international economic crisis is providing Latin America and the Caribbean the opportunity to think about how to create its own “roadmap” towards development and equality, without losing sight of global interdependence.
– This plan should take into account the kind of State the region needs for the 21st century, said Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) during the closure of the XXI Seminario Regional de Política Fiscal held at ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile.
Seminar participants exchanged experiences and viewpoints on how to improve management of public finances, what to avoid in times of economic crisis, the relationship between fiscal policy and greater social equality, and the threats and opportunities posed by climate change.
The event gathered over 80 speakers, including fiscal authorities from the Ministries of Economy, Finance and Planning and the Central Banks of several Latin American countries and Spain.
Bárcena stated that the economic experience of the region over recent decades has allowed countries to view today’s crisis from a different perspective. – The crisis came from abroad, not just from the subprime situation, but also from a market-oriented economic model. Now we have to discuss whether the role being assigned to the State is temporary or permanent and if we should open new spaces for public policies, and in this context, assess the capabilities the region has lost, she said.
During the next regional seminar on fiscal policy, to be held in 2010, ECLAC will present its views on public policies and the kind of State Latin America and the Caribbean need for the 21st century, added Bárcena.
– For some, the State is taking actions that it shouldn’t, according to the economic model that prevailed in the 1990s, but that are appropriate in the context of the new perspective on development that we are creating together. This is what ECLAC is called on to do, Bárcena concluded.
Kilde: ECLAC
