>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Financial Times - February 4, 2000 > >LATIN AMERICA: Region no better off now, says World Bank >By Henry Tricks in Cancún > >James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, on Thursday painted a grim >picture of poverty in Latin America, saying the region was no better off >than it was more than two decades ago despite far-reaching economic reforms. > >His remarks were a dose of cold water in an otherwise upbeat meeting of >finance ministers from Latin America, the US and Canada, where Michel >Camdessus, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, reaffirmed >the belief that Latin America's economies would grow a boisterous 4 per >cent this year. > >"We are no better off than we were in the 70s," Mr Wolfensohn said, noting >that the gap between rich and poor in Latin America was the worst in the >world, that 80 per cent of the region's 30m indigenous people lived in >poverty and that 40m more people lived below the poverty line now than 20 >years ago. > >He urged Latin Americans to address the issue by enlisting the support of >the Catholic Church, non-governmental organisations and trade unions, >warning that social instability could kill long-term growth. > >The recent bloodless coup in Ecuador, he said, might reflect that threat. >"What happened in Ecuador was an expression by a group of (indigenous >people) that they were upset." > >Mr Wolfensohn also expressed sympathy for those left behind by >globalisation, saying that the protests in Seattle that disrupted last >year's meeting of the World Trade Organisation were not just the work of a >"group of radicals" and reflected some "very legitimate" views. > >His message contrasted sharply with recent remarks by his host, President >Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, who lambasted international NGOs at the World >Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, for "global-phobia". > >"There's a lot of fear everywhere about how this new globalised community >is going to work out," Mr Wolfensohn said. > >His emphasis on the importance of fighting poverty was broadly echoed by Mr >Camdessus, though the IMF boss used one of his final meetings with top >Latin American officials before his departure this month to praise the >economic reforms that have helped transform Latin America since the 1980s. > >He predicted the region was entering the most delicate phase of reform, and >pressed its rulers to combat powerful interest groups in order to bolster >tax collection, strengthen banking systems and reduce poverty by spurring >long periods of economic growth. > >He said the IMF had more than $35bn committed to Latin America. > > >Louis Proyect > >(The Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org) __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
