Luciana Lima Reporter Agência Brasil
Brasília – Citing problems in the United States, Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Iceland, president Dilma Rousseff told an audience at the 41st Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur) that the developing nations in Latin America have been more dynamic economically [since the 2008-2009 international financial crisis] even though they suffer the consequences of excess liquidity in rich countries that reduces their competitivity on international markets and increases inflationary pressure at home.
Dilma called on developing countries to direct their markets toward growth and development, based on the creation of jobs and increasing income as part of an effort to make better products. “We must join forces to add aggregate value to our goods,” she declared, pointing out that the Mercosur model of growth, based on the unique example of Brazil, was a smart choice. “Our growth consists of much more than GDP numbers. It is a process that generates shared wealth, it values citizenship and is closely linked to a vision that sees development as necessarily socially just and environmentally sustainable.”
Speaking in more detail of what she called the Brazilian development model, Dilma emphasized that conventional economic wisdom did not consider social inclusion [raising the poor out of extreme misery] a factor in development. “Our model seeks prosperity by embracing the masses that have been historically excluded [from participation in the economy and social benefits]. Social inclusion has become a motor of our economic growth, rather than a counterweight holding it back," the president explained.
Dilma went on to call for greater integration of productive chains in Mercosur countries, more B2B transactions, mainly at the small and medium-sized company levels. “Entrepreneurship generates jobs, promotes innovation and expands business opportunities – just the right recipe for a growing market like ours,” she declared. “Our aim must be technological innovation. We need to promote the interchange of students, professors and researchers. We urgently need an open, operational system of scholarships, study and research in the area of our common market.”
Speaking of the disparities within the common market (“assimetria das condições”), Dilma cited the role of the Mercosur Fund for Convergence of Structural and Institutional Strengthening (“Focem”), as an example of a platform for relevant joint efforts in development and growth.
Dilma praised the growth rate in Paraguay in 2010, over 15%, calling it a good sign of even better things to come in the future for Paraguay, the region and the Mercosur economic block itself.
She mentioned that Mercosur has evolved into a viable economic union over the last 20 years, with trade growing from $5 billion in 1991 to $44.5 billion last year (and she emphasized the importance of the fact that the 2010 figure was higher than it was before the international crisis in 2008-2009 – showing that Mercosur continued to grow after the crisis).
In closing Dilma described the Mercosur/Unasul region as “nuclear weapon-free and without ethinic conflicts,” where the logic of dialogue has substituted the logic of confrontation making it different from most other regions in the world.
Dilma said although there was much to commemorate, much remained to do. She spoke of the recently launched Brazilian program, Brazil Without Misery, which aims to raise 16 million Brazilians out of extreme misery. She pointed out that one of the essential features of the program is that it does not deal with the poor as a mass of abstract numbers. “In Brazil today, the poor are people with faces. We have the names and addresses of each and every person living in extreme misery and we intend to treat them as individuals as we assist them to achieve a better standard of living,” the president concluded.
Allen Bennett – translator/editor The News in English - content modified
Link - Dilma faz no Paraguai alerta sobre a situação econômica mundial
