ECLAC Recognizes Mexico’s Leadership in the Forging and Follow-up of the 2030 Agenda

The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, recognized today the leadership of Mexico in the construction and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), during the first segment of ECLAC’s thirty-sixth session, which was dedicated to the country hosting the gathering that began this Monday, May 23, in Mexico City.

During National Day, organized by the Mexican government to analyze the 2030 Agenda from the perspective of economic inclusion, Alicia Bárcena valued the progress made by Mexico in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda through various mechanisms for participation that have included representatives of all sectors of society in a relevant way.

“The 2030 Agenda belongs to us, to all the countries and to society as a whole. It is a universal agenda, a collective project. Today we have heard from Mexican voices how it has been interpreted and that is very positive,” Alicia Bárcena said.

The senior United Nations official indicated that to fulfill this Agenda’s goals, progressive structural change is needed that ushers in a different development pattern in which employment with rights plays a central role, since “that is the master key for equality.”

Bárcena also mentioned the 11 structural reforms promoted by the Mexican government in recent years, saying they were an example of public policies aligned with the 2030 Agenda and its goals.

Meanwhile, the Mexican Foreign Minister, Claudia Ruiz Massieu, thanked ECLAC’s Executive Secretary for the possibility of holding the thirty-sixth session in that country and underscored that events such as these set the standard for the governance model that the world needs.

“The social challenges that we still face as a region should be tackled jointly,” Ruiz Massieu said. “The fight against hunger, poverty and inequality cannot wait. We must act now with clear objectives,” she emphasized, indicating that the 2030 Agenda’s effectiveness will depend on coordination throughout the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.

With regard to the meeting that ECLAC will hold this week in Mexico City, Ruiz Massieu announced that Mexico will assume the presidency of this United Nations regional organization for the next two years, along with the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development, which will be one of the meeting’s most important concrete outcomes.

National Day was inaugurated by Ambassador Socorro Flores, the Mexican Foreign Ministry’s Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, who welcomed the participants and stressed the importance of the debates that will take place this week, centered on ECLAC’s position document Horizons 2030: Equality at the Centre of Sustainable Development, which will be presented during the gathering.

Other participants in the event included Hugo Beteta, Director of ECLAC’s Subregional Headquarters in Mexico, and other authorities, scholars, government officials and representatives of civil society organizations.

Participants debated the issues addressed on three panels, regarding national policies for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, social participation and the lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and new challenges for the production of disaggregated data for measuring the SDGs.

ECLAC’s thirty-sixth session will be officially inaugurated on Tuesday, May 24 by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, and it will last through Friday, May 27. All the relevant information about the meeting is available at this web site: ://periododesesiones.cepal.org/36/en.

You can follow all the details of the gathering on social media with the hashtags #Horizontes2030 and #Horizons2030.

More information:

• ECLAC’s Thirty-sixth session.
• How to follow ECLAC’s session in Mexico.

For press-related questions, contact:

María Luisa Díaz de León, Public Information Official, ECLAC’s Subregional Headquarters in Mexico. E-mail: marialuisa.diaz@cepal.org; Telephone: (52 55) 41705665, Cell Phone: (5255) 5416 9297.

Félix Ibáñez, Officer-in-Charge of ECLAC’s Public Information Unit. E-mail: prensa@cepal.org; Telephone: (56) 22210 2040, Cell Phone: (569) 7 967 8306.

Follow us on: Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Google+.