Meeting of the Socialist International Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean, Santo Domingo

The SI Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean, SICLAC, convened in the Dominican Republic. The meeting was held from 23-24 March and was hosted by the Dominican Revolutionary Party, PRD. Keynote speakers at the opening of the meeting included: SI Secretary General Luis Ayala; Raúl Alfonsín, former President of Argentina and President of the international relations institute of the Radical Civic Union, UCR; Tomás Borge, Sandinista National Liberation Front, FSLN; former President of Bolivia and Chair of Revolutionary Left Movement, New Majority MIR, Jaime Paz Zamora; Victor Benoît, general secretary of KONAKOM, Haiti; Rubén Berríos, president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, PIP; and Chair of the Committee, José Francisco Peña Gómez, PRD leader and SI Vice-President.

Close to a hundred delegates took part in the meeting which focused on two themes: 'Latin America and the Caribbean and Globalisation: elaborating proposals for creating opportunities and strengthening solidarity' and 'Defining priorities for governments with social responsibility: policies for education, health and social services'. The themes were introduced by Raúl Alfonsín, Rolando Araya Monge, leader of the National Liberation Party, PLN, of Costa Rica, and Errol Greene, Jamaican People's National Party, PNP.

The Committee also received reports on national situations from delegates and issued a number of statements on national issues.