Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said Wednesday that Latin American and Caribbean countries “have the 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 of 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 39th session of the organization and praised the presentation of the document “Towards the transformation of the development model of Latin America and the Caribbean”, which described “the the context that afflicts 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 stressed that the region faces “historical gaps” in terms of inequality, production and gender, “which add to the current problems”.
In this context, he assessed “the roadmap proposed by ECLAC” which, in his opinion, “could not be more current” and which not only describes the situation, but also presents “proposals and initiatives to overcome the crisis”.
For this reason, he said that “the people of Latin America and the Caribbean 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 underlining that “ECLAC has never been a technocratic body, but has challenged and challenged itself in the most interesting moments” and underlined the importance of dialogue, “which enriches not only the debate but also the projections that make the region transit on the path of economic development with social justice ”.
Meanwhile, the head of Cepal believed that in the new phase “the certainty is emerging that we are moving towards a lost decade”. The executive secretary, José Manuel Salazar, assured that “the certainty is emerging that (the countries of the region) are heading towards a lost decade”, with a decline in global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) similar to that of the depression of the decade of the 1930s.
“This reality explains important external shocks, but also our shortcomings in the implementation of public policies,” said Salazar.
