MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Governance issues” not legitimacy are the region's problems

Secretary General José Miguel Insulza of the Organization of American States (OAS), speaking this week in Brussels, Belgium, defended the legitimacy of Latinamerican governments, highlighting the transparency of the latest elections in the region, Bolivia, Chile and Honduras.

But Insulza underlined that the real challenge for countries of the Americas is governance and the ability to maintain economic growth while ensuring an equitable distribution of wealth. Insulza made the remarks as he met with top European Union (EU) officials and addressed the European Parliament's Mercosur Committee.

In his remarks before the Mercosur Committee, Insulza reviewed the political and social situation in the Americas, touching on Europe's cooperation policies for Latin America and the Caribbean as well as on OAS priorities.

"There's no legitimacy problem in Latinamerica. Honduras, Bolivia and Chile have held elections in recent months with no transparency objections, and besides in two of them the opposition was the winner", he emphasized.

"Despite the assurance of democracy in the hemisphere's countries, governance issues remain", he said, adding that "the scourge of extreme poverty and inequality continues to be a major challenge for governments to face".

The OAS Secretary General recalled that in the last decade ten Latinamerican democratically elected governments couldn't finish their mandates, "but no coups were involved".

Latinamerica is going through a "crucial moment" following the strong economic growth of 2004, which does not necessarily generate much optimism since "it's a situation already experienced in the nineties when the region was unable to sustain that pace".

The two main questions facing the region's governments are: "will it be possible to have sustained growth for several years running so the continent can really take off, and will it be possible to ensure that growth will be fairly distributed".

Insulza also met with EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana and discussed relations between both organizations. In their meeting, Insulza reaffirmed the Organization's interest in cooperation mechanisms with the European Union, making reference to current projects as well as others to be defined and implemented. Insulza held discussion as well with Benita Ferrero, EU Commissioner for External Affairs, to review the agenda for Europe and Latin America for the Vienna Summit scheduled to take place next May.

Prior to arriving in Brussels, Insulza visited Germany, where he briefed Foreign Affairs Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the situation in Latin America and the Caribbean at a time when 14 countries of the region are scheduled to hold presidential and/or parliamentary elections this year. Haiti was among the topics of discussion, with an emphasis on the international community's engagement with the Haitian authorities to ensure the February 7 elections are held on schedule.