New Commentary
Saturday 6 March 2010
The latest commentary makes the point that Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries could not cope with two disasters simultaneously among its own membership. It notes that while they have been valiant in Haiti in relation to their means, their financial contribution to Haiti was miniscule, and they have not been able to offer any assistance to Chile which has an even bigger earthquake than Haiti six weeks later. Disaster threatens CARICOM countries in the form of hurricanes and earthquakes and they are ill-prepared to cope – a fact that international financial institutions and large countries should take into account by ceasing to graduate them from concessionary lending; urgently addressing their burdensome commercial debt problems; and stopping the demand in the World Trade Organisation and in trade agreements that they give reciprocal treatment to countries and regions much larger than they are.
Of course, the principal lesson to be learned from the experience of Haiti and Chile is that the countries that will recover faster and reconstruct quicker from disasters are the ones with the prudently run economies that benefit from greater resources. In this connection, CARICOM countries could make their economies stronger by accelerating the completion of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy with an effective governance structure. (Click on Commentaries for the full text)
A commentary and an interview have been posted. They are related to a Summit meeting of Latin American and Caribbean leaders held in Mexico on Februrary 23rd 2010 at which they agreed to establish a new hemispheric organisation that excludes the US and Canada and inlcudes Cuba. They also decided to support Argentina's "legitimate rights" in its dispute with Britain over the Falklands/Malvinas.