(27 September 2013) The address by Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), at a seminar today in New York, focused on the promotion of social covenants for equality as the basis for structural change in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The senior official was the main speaker at the event The Future of Latin America: Positioning the Region in the Global Scene, which was organized by the Latin American Student Association (LASA) of the School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University, New York.
The meeting was opened by Salvador Escobedo, LASA President, and Columbia University Professor, José Antonio Ocampo, and was also attended by Humberto López, Lead Economist and Sector Leader for Latin America and the Caribbean Region at the World Bank; Kevin Casas-Zamora, OAS Secretary for Political Affairs; and George Gray Molina, Chief Economist and Head of the Regional Human Development and MDGs practice at the UNDP Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean.
During the seminar, Ms. Bárcena referred to the document Structural Change for Equality: An Integrated Approach to Development, stating that equality as an ethical and guiding principle involves disseminating capacity-building, technical progress, full labour opportunities and universal access to social safety nets and benefits throughout the production structure and social fabric.
She commented "Placing equality at the heart is a break with the economic paradigm that has prevailed in the region for at least three decades".
Ms. Bárcena also emphasized the role of the State and public policies for long-term development, as well as the importance of a solid and efficient institutional framework that enables the path towards equality to be promoted, chosen, regulated and funded.
She remarked "A strong role for the State is key to building the political will to enable structural change for equality".
She also declared that promoting social covenants in each country could boost this productive transformation process by coordinating macroeconomic policies with other (industrial, sectoral and social) polices, and through dialogue between the State and various social stakeholders.
The Executive Secretary, who is in New York to take part in the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, also gave a lecture on the "Socio Economic Outlook of Latin America and the Caribbean" at Fordham University on 26 September.
For further questions, please contact ECLAC's Public Information and Web Services Unit.
E-mail: prensa@cepal.org; Tel.: (56 2) 210 2040.
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