Fernández called on to establish progressivism in Latin America – Telam

President Alberto Fernndez today called for deepening the institutionalism of progressivism in Latin America and speaking out against economic blockades in times of coronavirus, on the basis of the belief that the continent is “marked by disunity” promoted by former US President Donald Trump and the OAS actions as “a kind of gendarmerie squad” over popular governments.

Fernandez spoke today in virtual form during the meeting of the Second anniversary of the Puebla group, under the title “Democracy, integration and social justice in Latin America”, at a conference which had as speakers references from 16 nations, such as the former president of the Spanish government, Jos Luis Rodríguez Zapatero; former President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa; and Chilean political leader Marco Antonio Enrquez-Ominami, among others.

In his speech, the President reviewed the situation of progressivism in Latin America in the years when he was losing places in the governments of the region, where – in parallel – “conservatism” was gaining ground, at the mercy of Trump’s influence on the continent.

“Trump imposed his policy on Latin America and that explains a lot of things that happened; This explains the OAS that we have, it explains the IDB that we have, the division we have, the birth of the Lima Group, Forum Prosur; all the mechanisms that have served Trump’s policy and have not served the unity of Latin America or the development or progress of Latin Americans, ”reflected Fernndez.

Faced with this setback, the Argentine president called on the members of the Puebla Group to deepen and institutionalize regional unity, through instruments such as Celac, because – he warned – “The OAS as it is is useless.”

“The first who must do his mea culpa is his secretary general Luis Almagro for the amount of things he has done and also the institutional framework of the United States for having proposed and supported a man like Almagro, ”he opined.

He said that “the Trump years” made the organization “not a meeting place for Latin America”, but rather “a kind of gendarmerie squad to advance on popular governments” in the region.

“What the OAS has done in Bolivia must necessarily be investigated and must necessarily be judged. because now there is no doubt as to what happened “, remarked Fernandez, who thus spoke about how” the consecration as president of Evo Morales was prevented, first, and the blow state commission later, in 2019.

The Puebla group, in the eyes of the Head of State, “therefore contributes to a very substantial debate” in order to “find alternative ways” so that Latin America can “move forward” and get rid of ” sad stigma “of being the” most unequal “continent in the world.

“The policies of recent years have accentuated this inequality and the pandemic also happened and the inequality was more evident, ”said Fernndez, who claimed“ the importance of the state ”and the value of supporting the public nature of health and education.

The importance of the state

“It is essential that education be public and free for the progress of our societies; in Argentina, we had a president who distinguished those who had the chance to study in private education, from those who had the misfortune of falling into public education ”, He reflected and alluded, although without the to name, to Mauricio Macri.

Marc, in this line, that “The pandemic has taught the importance of the state” because – he said – “it is the greatest guarantor of solidarity” and grafic: “If the State does not arbitrate and puts equality where equality does not exist, no market promotes equality“.

The president described the regional context to renew his certainty that countries must “unite” to achieve better renegotiations of their “debts”, an issue which he says will have an impact at the global level.

“In the post-pandemic world, the IMF has decided to have 50 billion dollars to meet the needs of the poorest countries in the world; to Macri’s Argentina he lent $ 57 billion; that exempts me from any comment as to why the Trump administration argued that the Fund gave this credit, “Fernandez warned and ironically:” In our country we say that Trump paid for the world’s most expensive election campaign. “

On the blockades of Cuba and Venezuela

In another order, the President stated that Latin America has the “moral obligation” and the “ethical duty” to rise up against the economic blockades hanging over Cuba and Venezuela in times of the coronavirus pandemic and assessed that States, for a “humanitarian” issue, cannot “remain silent” in these situations.

“The lockdowns should embarrass those who promote them and in Latin America there are two lockdowns that are being held in the midst of the pandemic that are depriving people, not only of food, and not just of inputs for industry to produce,” but contributions from doctors, ventilators and the essentials to deal with the pandemic, humanely, we cannot remain silent, ”he said.

He asked the rest of the members of the Puebla Group to put forward “ideas, convictions” to bring these debates “to all societies” in the region.

“To be progressive is not only to distribute wealth in a more equal manner, yes, but it is also to guarantee gender equality, to put an end to all forms of discrimination, it is to promote the unity of the continent to the time when the world is regionalizing; all these are debts that we have in our societies, ”concluded Fernandez.