|
Economists Discuss Alternatives to Free-Market
Model
SANTIAGO, Nov 10 (By Daniela
Estrada, IPS) November 30,
2006 — Some 90 left-leaning Latin American economists are meeting in the Chilean
capital to discuss ways to build "a society with neither exploited nor
exploiters" and construct bridges between academia and social movements.
The Thursday through Saturday gathering is the first "Latin America in Movement:
Building Alternatives to Neoliberalism" colloquium, organized by the Latin
American Society of Political Economy and Critical Thinking (SEPLA).
SEPLA, which was created in October 2005 by 245 economists from 14 Latin
American countries as well as Britain, France, Spain and the United States, now
has more than 500 members.
At the opening of the three-day gathering, economist Antonio Elías, a member of
the Network of Leftist Economists of Uruguay, said the Chilean-based SEPLA is "a
social organization made up of academics whose aim is to design a proposal of
change for Latin America," in conjunction with social movements in each country.
"We must struggle hard against neoliberalism, economic orthodoxy and all forms
of imperialism. There has to be awareness that alternative policies, if they are
correctly formulated, will not lead to chaos, as those who defend continuity
want to make people believe," the SEPLA economists state in their manifesto.
"To the contrary, these policies are capable of reducing unemployment and
poverty, while creating mechanisms that can defend our countries from parasite
rentiers and unbridled speculation which periodically tip our economies into a
deeper and deeper pit, requiring increasingly greater sacrifices," says the
document.
The meeting of economists from 14 countries is taking place in the private
University of Arts and Communication (Arcis), and includes presentations by 90
speakers on issues like public policies, health, education, the labor market,
capital flows, the growing strength of social movements and food security.
"There is a great social effervescence in Latin America," Chilean economist
Claudio Lara, one of the leaders of SEPLA and an organizer of the colloquium,
told IPS. "It is growing to a greater or lesser extent in the different
countries, in some of which the social movements are now in the government, as
is the case of Bolivia. There are also progressive governments, very different
from governments of the past, in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil."
Speaking at the opening ceremony were Nicolás Grau, president of the University
of Chile Student Federation, and José Graziano Da Silva, the United Nations Food
and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) regional representative for Latin America
and the Caribbean — two of the 15 institutions that are sponsoring the event.
Grau urged the economists to seek opportunities for change in the "fissures" in
the "capitalist economic model," and to take advantage of the "disorder"
generated by social movements.
In the case of Chile, the student activist highlighted the "historic" protest by
high school students, in May and June, which prompted the government to pursue
improvements in Chile's unequal educational system.
Da Silva, a former minister of food security under the leftist government of
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil, underscored the contribution that many of
the economists taking part in the meeting have made in their respective
countries, especially Brazil.
"Thanks to the debates organized by the Brazilian Society of Political Economy
— a member of SEPLA — on food security, more than 100 academics and government
and independent experts were brought together and created the Zero Hunger
program, which was adopted by President Lula when he won the elections" in
2002, Da Silva, one of the chief architects of that plan, told IPS.
Nevertheless, the members of SEPLA recognise that their relationship with trade
unions and social organisations is not strong enough yet.
"What has characterized Latin America in the last 20 to 30 years is the
dichotomy, the rupture between social movements, which function on their own
means, and the academic world, totally closed in on itself in the universities,
which has not permitted a fluid dialogue," said Lara.
"We leftist economists agree on the fight against injustice, the search for a
more egalitarian, inclusive and democratic society," Mexican economist Jesús
Rivera de la Rosa, from the Autonomous Benemérita University of Puebla, told IPS.
But "the way to bring about change, how to make the transition, is something
that we must continue to debate," added Rivera, who made a controversial
proposal Thursday: to stop talking in terms of "development" and to discuss
instead the "liberation" of Latin America.
In his view, it is not possible to achieve development in a capitalist society,
and if the world continues to move in the present direction, "technological
slavery" will be the result.
Rivera also said his country is experiencing a veritable civil war, the outcome
of which is impossible to foresee, especially given the situation in the
southern state of Oaxaca, where 350 social organizations joined the teachers'
union in an uprising since May demanding the resignation of the state governor,
accused of corruption.
"This Oaxaca business is just starting, and peoples' assemblies (like the one
responsible for the protest in Oaxaca) have also begun to be created in other
Mexican states," he said.
The economist also warned about what could happen on Nov. 20 in the Mexican
capital. "For the first time ever, President Vicente Fox has suspended the march
commemorating the Mexican Revolution, but the governor of the federal district
(of Mexico City) is going to organize it anyway," he said.
"Besides, that day (defeated leftist presidential candidate Andrés Manuel) López
Obrador is going to be symbolically inaugurated as the legitimate president of
Mexico, an event that is expected to draw four million people. We don't know if
force will be used against the gathering," said Rivera.
"U.S. Professor James D. Cockcroft says there is a ‘social tsunami' in Latin
America. There is a social wave expressed in democratic, left-leaning
governments, some of which are more leftwing than others. It is a movement that
began in the region about 10 years ago and that is growing and growing and
growing, and we don't know how far the regenerative power of that tsunami will
reach," he concluded.
| |
|
Grupo Jon Garrido
Global Economic Development Services
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Jon@JonGarrido.com
602.244.1000 |
|
|
