DESENHAR UM NOVO CICLO DE DESENVOLVIMENTO

Shaping a New Development Cycle
• Ricardo Villela Marino• Aécio Neves da Cunha• Marcelo Bahia Odebrecht •Luis Guillermo Plata Chaired by • Moisés Naím
Thursday 16 April16.15-17.30
The World Economic Forum on Latin America ended on a note of optimism in the midst of the global economic crisis. The chairman of the closing session on “Shaping a New Development Cycle”, Moisés Naím, Editor-in-Chief, Foreign Policy Magazine, USA; Co-Chair, Global Agenda Council on Illicit Trade, revealed that a declaration was sent to the heads of state attending the Summit of the Americas tomorrow in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
The meeting ended on calls for “stronger collaboration” between private and public sector initiatives to address the global economic turbulence. The declaration envisions a new development cycle for the region, with governments, business and communities working more closely together. To address the current economic crisis, signatories call for efforts of such cooperation to be based on a solid international financial architecture, sound educational opportunities, clean technologies, sustainable use of natural resources, diversified sources of energy and an equitable socio-economic setting. “We need a new dawn in international cooperation,” the declaration says. It also calls for international financial institutions to support counter-cyclical policies, “with special attention to the most vulnerable countries”.
The declaration was sent to José Miguel Insulza, Secretary-General, Organization of American States (OAS), Washington DC, before he addressed the closing plenary of the World Economic Forum on Latin America via video link. Insulza reflected on the great expectations of Latin American countries towards the new administration of US President Barack Obama, “especially when he says that he wants very much to do policies with us and not policies for us,” he said.
“Latin American participants (in the meeting) feel they are able to face the crisis in better condition than any time in the past,” said Ricardo Villela Marino, Chief Executive Officer, Latin America, Banco Itaú Unibanco, Brazil; Young Global Leader; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on Latin America. He explained that several elements required for a new sustainable development cycle are already available in the majority of Latin American countries. He cited the healthy financial and banking system; the abundance of natural resources; the high reliance on clean and renewable energy; the favourable balance between natural resources and population, in contrast to other parts of the world; the consolidation of democratic institutions; and the fact that macroeconomic fundamentals resisted rather well in spite of the impact of the current crisis. “It is reasonable to expect Latin America of being capable of weathering the storm better than in the past”. However, the region now has to address a different kind of debt: “a social debt”, he said.
Marcelo Bahia Odebrecht, Chief Executive Officer, Engineering and Construction, Odebrecht Brazil, and President, Odebrecht Group, Brazil; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on Latin America; Young Global Leader, called for new public-private partnerships in the economic and social domains to curb poverty and improve income distribution.
At the end of the session, Naim concluded that the mood has definitely changed since the Annual Meeting in Davos three months ago. “We are no longer in a free fall; we are no longer in this calamitous mood we all perceived in Davos.” He said that the next World Economic Forum on Latin America will take place in Carthagena, Colombia, in 2010.