(26 November 2010) The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, gave a lecture on Thursday night on the value of equality as a central aspect of the development agenda, which was attended by the President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández, and held in the Government Palace in the country's capital.
In her presentation of the document Time for equality: closing gaps, opening trails -which was published by ECLAC at its most recent session held in May in Brazil - Ms. Bárcena spoke about the three pillars of the equality agenda proposed by ECLAC: equal rights as a basis for social covenants, a fiscal covenant with a redistributive impact and a democratic order in which development aims to reflect the will of the majority.
She also highlighted the impact of the recent international crisis on the economies of Latin America and the role to be played by the State in overcoming the problems that are still affecting the region.
Before beginning the lecture, the ECLAC Executive Secretary and the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Development of the Dominican Republic, Temístocles Montás, signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen the training of staff working in the country's National Planning and Public Investment System (2010-2030). The ceremony was attended by President Fernández and Vice-President Rafael Alburquerque.
In her presentation, Ms. Bárcena stated that the Dominican Republic will have positive economic growth in 2010. However, she said that the economy of the Caribbean as whole will shrink in 2011 because the larger nations upon which it depends will not have recovered.
She expressed concern for the fact that Caribbean countries are again dependent upon exports of raw materials, rather than on the design of their own development.
She said that the development of Latin America must be reconsidered on the basis of its own reality, taking up its rightful place but without imitating any foreign economic model.
Along these lines, she recognized the long-term National Development Strategy being implemented by the Government of the Dominican Republic with the support of all political and social sectors.
"The productive structure is at the root of our problems", she claimed, after advocating technical innovation, as suggested at a meeting held in 2005 in Bávaro, Dominican Republic.
Ms. Bárcena declared that the State must play an active role in development projects within the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean, in conjunction with all political and social sectors, while also involving the population in the economic dynamics.
She congratulated President Fernández and his economic team for launching a proposal for the alternative democratization of the economy in the Dominican Republic, as part of the long-term National Development Strategy.
Lastly, Alicia Bárcena reaffirmed ECLAC's commitment to work on the implementation of economic development projects throughout the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.