CAF President: Education is Key for Latin America’s Growth

(Caracas, Apr. 26, 2013). Latin America has to invest more in education to address inequality, said the president of CAF -development bank of Latin America- Enrique García in the opening session of the World Economic Forum on Latin America 2013 in Lima.

 

Despite Latin America's progress in recent years in terms of poverty reduction, there are still major unaddressed challenges, said García. "If children in the countryside do not have the opportunity to study in the early years of their lives, it will be hard for us to have the human capital needed for the productive transformation and the structural changes that allow us to address the inequality problem in the region," he said. "We have to work on the 21st century's education, but in order to do that we need a consensus among governments and society as a whole in their vision to develop a long-term agenda."

 

Latin America should not waste this favorable moment of commodities' high international prices, said García. "Exports have grown, macroeconomic policies have improved, but now it's micro economy's time," he said. "It's time for a bigger investment in key development areas: education, technology and infrastructure."

 

García delivered his address during the session entitled Latin America in the current global context, other participants included U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sánchez; Peruvian Economy and Finance Minister Luis Miguel Castilla Rubio; Costa Rican Foreign Trade Minister Anabel González and Marriott International CEO Arne Sorensen.

 

CAF's president said the region must seek a more symmetrical relationship in its trade links with countries like China. "We must get Chinese investment in more added value areas of Latin America as well: This is a political rather than an economic issue, as better trade agreements must be negotiated."

 

García stressed the need for Latin America to make progress in its integration processes. "In relative terms, we have lost importance in the global context," he said. "Twenty five years ago, our exports represented 18 percent of the world's total, and today they are 7 percent. The challenge is achieving a renewed and pragmatic integration in order to position ourselves globally in the level that suits us."

 

see video of the session