LATAM-POLITCS: Pre-Summit Meetings Begin

By Estrella Gutiérrez Reprint | | Print |

Estrella Gutierrez

CARACAS, Apr 24 1997 (IPS) - The first in a series of meetings prior to the 1997 Latin American Summit began here Thursday to complete work on a six-point declaration on strengthening democracy – focal point of the meeting of 21 Heads of State on Margarita Island.

The draft of the “Margarita Declaration” to be signed at the Nov 8-9 summit spotlights six main areas of concern – social justice, the promotion and respect of human rights, the administration of justice, ethics in civil administration, multi party politics-free elections and freedom of the press.

Summit Secretary Edmundo Gonzalez, said the theme of the draft declaration builds on the central issue of last year’s Summit in Chile – the exercise of domestic procedure and the ethical values underling democracy. Another section would deal with international assistance provided by Spain and Portugal to their former colonies.

The third and final part of the Declaration – entitled “Special Interest Topics” – would be considered at the second pre-summit session scheduled for August at Caraballeda, a beach resort 25 miles north of Caracas.

Gonzalez said this third issue would “review pressing economic and political concerns” and its topical nature made it advisable to delay final review until nearer the Summit itself.

Gonzalez, Director of Political Affairs in Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry, said that the Margarita Summit will emphasize that “democracy is a way of life, and not only a system of government. The values that are embedded in this way of life make democratic government possible”.

He said that, while there was no specific “action plan” with related deadlines, the Margarita Summit would launch concrete initiatives to foster ethical development as an intrinsic foundation of democracy – in the New World or the Old. The Margarita Declaration would be based on the premise that a commitment to ethical development was indispensable to sustainable democracy.

As an example, Gonzalez pointed to the universal obligation of democratic states to confront “organized crime whether these organizations are based on narcotics or other malfeasant activities.” He went on to say that “these things demand sober reflection if we hope to implement mechanisms that will prevent the penetration of nefarious influence into our democratic institutions.”

Other critical themes to be dealt with by the Summit’s social justice committee include poverty and social upheaval, which have become increasingly serious problems throughout Latin America.

Gonzalez pointed to the critical importance of “achieving equilibrium between economic development and social equity.” He asked: “How can we reach goals like full employment, competitive productivity and political integration while at the same time defeating long-established patterns of social exclusion?”

The Latin American chiefs of State would debate how “to establish an equity agenda for the whole region, an agenda that will include the economic, the political and the social, as well as enlisting international cooperation to achieve these ends, Gonzalez said.

According to Gonzalez, efficiency, openess, defense of human rights and dignified quality of life are linchpins for establishing lasting democracies that respond to the needs of their populations. In this regard, Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera’s concerns weree tightly linked to one of the Summit’s central issues: the need to conduct a frontal assault on corruption, which has already been the focus of several inter-American agreements, he added.

Final revision of the Margarita Declaration will emerge from a third and final preliminary meeting to be held on Margarita Island, November 5th and 6th, just before the Summit opens.

Before this, beginning in June, Venezuela will host six forums on each of the six themes relating to the ethical basis of democracy to be co-sponsored by national and international groups. There also will be three specialized ministerial meetings concerning education, science/technology and agriculture (which this year will focus on proper nutrition as a basic human right) and a series of meetings on related themes sponsored by a variety of non-governmental organizations.