GFDD and FUNGLODE President States that Social Inequality Remains a Challenge for Latin America

The solution to the problem of inequality in the distribution of wealth remains the main challenge for Latin America, the former President of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Leonel Fernández, stated on Thursday. The former Dominican ruler, who is also President of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), was speaking during a keynote address as the guest speaker at the "II Latin American Policy
Forum: Facing the Future", organized by the Harris School of Public Policy of Chicago University.

The former Dominican President spoke on the issue "Democratic Transition and Development in Latin America". He was invited by the Dean of the Harris School of Public Policy, Colm O’Muircheartaigh, as well as by the Organization of Latin American Students and the Association of Students of Public Policy.

Dr. Fernández stated that during the last decade, hundreds of thousands of citizens  are gradually achieving social inclusion and upward mobility, and thereby demonstrating the momentum that development is gaining in Latin America.
Likewise, the political leader acknowledged that in the past three decades democracy has steadily been putting down strong roots in Latin America, where there is now greater citizen participation in the political process.

However, he warned that, these achievements, far from calming the social demands, have accrued tensions due to the persistent income inequality that still characterizes the region.According to President Fernández, guaranteeing other important aspects of
democracy is still an outstanding issue in Latin America, including full respect for human rights, institutional strengthening and the consolidation of the system of political representation.

"Today&rsquos debate is not whether the possibility of returning to military dictatorships exists; the issue is rather to evaluate the quality of democracy and to strengthen it, in order for it to become a responsible democracy, and to achieve a tangible improvement in
the service to the population," said the former Head of the Dominican State.

The Forum, which was held at the International House, organized four panels to discuss the major challenges that Latin countries such as the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and El Salvador face in terms of security, democracy, financial inclusion and social development.

In the first panel, the experts addressed the efforts currently being made
​​to improve financial inclusion, as well as the alternatives to solve the lack of access to credit in Latin America. Panelists included; Xavier Faz, from the World Bank; Javier Gavito, from GAIA Capital; Isabela Echeverry, from the Bavaria Foundation in Colombia; and, Andrew White, Senior Urban Development Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

In the panel on security, the discussion focused on how the various sectors can help
combat violence, including the role of governments and the private sector in this regard. The following panelists participated in the debate: Antonio Arámbula, from the Committee of General Security of the Federal Government of Mexico; Alberto Vollmer, Founder of the Alcatraz Project in Venezuela, and Eduardo Guerrero, Founder of Lantia Security Consulting in Mexico.

Following Dr. Fernández’s lecture, there were two separate panels on social development and
democracy. The first one, which addressed the issue of social development, comprised of the following eminent persons: Gonzalo Hernández, an official of the Mexican government; Marian Vidaurri, from the Secretariat for Political Affairs of the Organization of American States (OAS), and Marcos Lopes, from the Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Forum concluded with the final panel, which addressed the
issue of democracy, in which the following persons participated in the debate: Patricia Maza-Pittsford, from the Consulate General of El Salvador in Chicago; Cristopher Ballinas, from the Ministry of Social Development of Mexico; Julio Rank, from the National Endowment for Democracy, and Ricardo Valencia, an official from the Embassy of El Salvador in the United States.