Declaration of La Antigua Guatemala

Latin America and the Caribbean in the global financial crisis: Meeting of the SI Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean in Guatemala, 23-24 March 2009

 

Original: Spanish

The Socialist International Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean and its members, meeting in La Antigua Guatemala, on 23-24 March 2009, are committed to unifying our political efforts to create a new economic model in place of the existing one which has dictated the alignment of public policies in many countries over the last 30 years, and which has led us to the crisis we face today.

The new economic model should regulate the market, guarantee lasting sustainability of natural resources, define and strengthen the functions and competence of the institutions of state and government, implement fiscal stimulus strategies as needed, as well as reform of the international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others from a progressive perspective. It should also be a model in which the application of public policies are centred on people as fundamental to sustainable development, targeting universal access to basic services such as health, education, housing, decent work and access to credit to benefit the most needy.

We reaffirm the principles of freedom, equality, fraternity and social justice for all the peoples of the world, including those of Latin America and the Caribbean faced with the need to confront the global challenges – challenges which call for regional integration as the best way to influence world politics and current economic processes to find solutions to the present economic crisis and to strengthen our democracies.

The member parties of the SI Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean commit to supporting all the measures necessary to avoid that the weight of the crisis falls upon our peoples and in particular on the most excluded. To that end, we will promote, protect and reinforce social programmes in areas of food, employment, health, education, housing and social welfare.

 

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