MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Latinamerica is not “turning left”, people want “results”

Former Chilean president Ricardo Lagos denied Latinamerica was “turning left” and said it was rather a deepening of democracy and the search for options to solve the region's problems.

"I think it is easy reading that makes people believe Latinamerica is turning left, which is an error. The region is heading for a deepening of its democratic system and is looking what options can solve problems which remain unsolved", said the former president in a long interview with Buenos Aires daily Clarin.

According to Mr. Lagos "changes generated in the region are signalled by the desire to generate a change in the way countries are being managed".

Mr. Lagos told Clarin that during the nineties democracy was re-established in the region but there have also been eruptions of "street democracy" with many governments changing, "but institutional viability respected".

Recovery of democracy lifted expectations but the idea that economic growth, following on the Washington Consensus, "was to ensure strong development and thus help solve many of the pending social problems, proved wrong", said Lagos.

But this also proved that democracy is deeply rooted and growing: Brazil elects a union leader president; Bolivia an indigenous for the first time in history; (conservative) Chile a woman, "all these changes signalled by the wish of the people to generate changes in the way countries are being managed".

Basically the idea is "yes, we've grown but I didn't get a share of the cake", indicated Lagos adding that what people are expecting are "results", therefore a "social content" to development is essential for people can easily argue "why so much talk about growth if we're not having a chance to solve the problems of the most needy".

The former president said this was evident during the financial crisis of the late nineties and early millennium: Chile invested heavily in social affairs since recovering democracy in 1990, and the ruling coalition survived; in Venezuela this did not happen and Hugo Chavez emerged; Kirchner in Argentina was half elected in but now has growing support and in Brazil, in spite all the (corruption) problems faced by President Lula and his ruling party, Lula is headed for re-election with the support of the massive aid given to (30) millions of poor people.

Further on Lagos said Latinamerica, following sustained growth and social investment, faces a second challenge: "redistribution and what model of society to build?"

Some say "individuality" with individual health insurance, individual savings for retirement, in other words, "the US model".

"This distribution system is lacking, with ghettos and barbed wire surrounding the country clubs where the wealthy and famous live" underlined Lagos.

The other option is European, the Scandinavian system which demands huge fiscal efforts but is not incompatible with "economic competitiveness".

"Four of the world's most competitive economies are from Scandinavia with exasperating tax rates but with positive factors in exchange: less social conflicts; more security; high social cohesion; birth to death protection of basic needs", emphasized Lagos.

When asked about the future of regional blocks such as Mercosur and the Andean Community of Nations, CAN, Mr. Lagos was rather pessimistic.

"Mercosur and CAN are integration efforts when their emphasis should have been first of all political and acknowledging countries' differences: UK belongs to the EU but does not have the Euro". Secondly, "why leave outside Central America and Mexico when the world looks at us as Latinamerica?"

Lagos insisted Mexico has a major role to play in the region and this was proved when together with Chile they stood up in the UN Security Council and refuses to support the war on Iraq, "I can say it now: this was coordinated and helped other countries come to our position".

Finally regarding relations with neighbouring Bolivia Lagos was more enthusiastic.

Lagos said it was not by chance that President Evo Morales overseas visit before taking office ended in South Africa with Nelson Mandela. "This involves two issues: non satisfaction with previous Bolivian governments and the fact Morales is an outstanding indigenous leader. The indigenous population see this as the real big change similar to what happened with apartheid in South Africa", argued the former Chilean president.

As to Bolivia's dispute with Chile over land lost during the Pacific war of 1879, Mr. Lagos said that in the framework of integration and building an agenda for the future, "an understanding can be found", but the dispute "can't be solved looking into the past otherwise positions revert to classical".

But with an agenda for the future and "our Bolivian friends will understand there is a real willingness to advance" and "then solving the past becomes much easier". Lagos recalls talking about the issue with Mexican president Vicente Fox: "tell me Vicente, what would happen if next time you meet with President Bush you begin by saying: Mr. President before we look into other issues I want to talk about Texas".