FORMER PRESIDENT OF SPAIN, FELIPE GONZALEZ HIGHLIHTED THE CHALLENGES FACED BY THE LATIN AMERICAN REGION
September 13, 2005

As part of the VIII Lecture Series of the Americas organized by the Organization of American States (OAS), the former president of Spain, Felipe González delivered a conference entitled "Challenges Confronting Latin America and the Caribbean”. In his address Gonzales outlined key priorities for the integral development in the region, urging a better income distribution, more infrastructure development, private savings with incentives, and emphasis on the value of human capital, as well as a pragmatic democracy.

"We live in a region of the world where the democratic system is widespread and where there are certain failures of its development despite the economic reforms that it has produced," González said referring to the urgent need to mover beyond an ideological democracy to a pragmatic one, and at the same time achieving a greater income distribution to address basic human needs.

Following his presentation held at the OAS headquarters in Washington D.C., a group of experts discussed key topics mentioned in his lecture. The Director of the OAS Department of Communications and External Relations, Irene Klinger, moderated the panel which included: Mark Schneider, Senior Vice President of the International Crisis Group; Richard Fletcher, Principal Advisor from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); and Nancy Zucker Boswell, Managing Director of Transparency International.

The conference’s video was transmitted in FUNGLODE’s headquarters in the Dominican Republic to a wide group of representatives from the private and public sectors and civil society. At the end of the lecture, a group of panelists discussed Gonzales’ conference. The panel of Dominican experts was conformed by Dr. Rafael Toribio, Director of INTEC’s Center for Democratic Governance and Mr. Angel Lockward, renown academic in the Dominic Republic. Their remarks were followed by a session of question and answer period with the public.
The transmission and dissemination of the series in the Dominican Republic are part of the agreement between FUNGLODE/GFDD and the OAS which aims at promoting and supporting the OAS Lecture of the Americas in the Dominican Republic.

Biography >>