IPS-English CENTRAL AMERICA: 'The Big Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:35:20 -0700 ROMAIPS LA DV IF IP MD QA CENTRAL AMERICA: ‘The Big Challenge is to Distribute Wealth' Interview with Luis Alberto Cordero SAN JOSÉ, Aug 8 (IPS) - Economic growth in Central America is not matched by equitable distribution, according to Luis Alberto Cordero, head of the Arias Foundation, who thinks that ostentatious wealth causes frustration in those who have nothing, and that this sometimes translates into violence. Cordero, 54, is a Costa Rican lawyer who has been head of the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress since 2003. Formerly, Cordero led the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights from 1996 to 2000. The Arias Foundation has been working for development in Central America since 1987. At the Central American summit Wednesday in Nicaragua, Cordero planned to present a document to the presidents, containing recommendations to try to ”overcome much of the backsliding” in the region. The meeting is seen as a sort of Esquipulas III, following Esquipulas II, the name given to the peace agreement signed 20 years ago in the city of Esquipulas, Guatemala. IPS: What is your opinion of Esquipulas II, 20 years on? LUIS ALBERTO CORDERO: Positive and optimistic. Democratic institutions have been strengthened, regular elections have been held and the results have been respected. Participation in elections in Central America has been high, with an average turnout of 70 to 75 percent of voters. But this is not the case in the political party system: there is a lot of political patronage in most countries. Corruption has also undermined confidence, and the judicial branch lacks independence. IPS: What are the pending challenges? LAC: We continue to maintain a very costly military apparatus, (with a total regional budget) of 2.4 billion dollars. This is still unacceptable, in spite of the steady decline in military spending. Another point is that Central America receives about six billion dollars a year in remittances (sent home by emigrants), but neither the state nor private enterprise do anything to take advantage of that investment flow. With regard to security, we have exchanged internal armed conflict for another armed struggle, which in this case is not political, but takes the shape of public insecurity and the presence of organised crime. This social violence preys particularly on women as its victims. We need to change our models to emphasise prevention, not repression, because iron-fisted policies have been a complete failure. IPS: That will require a great deal of social investment. Are the financial resources available? LAC: Yes, but much more intelligence is needed in spending decisions. Tax revenue must be increased -- we hardly pay any taxes -- or foreign investment must be attracted, and for that we need a favourable climate to generate employment. The challenge for democracy is not only to strengthen the institutions, but also to overcome poverty. Economic growth stands at around six or seven percent a year, but the problem is distribution. The concentration of wealth in very few hands is enormous and ostentatious, which causes frustration among those who have nothing, and this sometimes translates into violence. IPS: The Esquipulas II agreement created the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), but Costa Rica did not join. Should it join now, or should a different formula be found? LAC: This institution has to be reconsidered. A regional parliament on the European model was a good idea, but its implementation was a total failure. Given the prospective trade agreement with Europe, it would be useful to have a regional instrument that is truly effective. The trade agreement with Europe, and CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement, between the United States, five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic) will contribute far more to integration than the PARLACEN ever has. IPS: At the PARLACEN in March, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega complained that Costa Rican President Óscar Arias won the Nobel Peace prize in 1987, instead of José Napoleón Duarte, the president of El Salvador from 1984 to 1986, who also participated actively in the Esquipula accords. What is your view on this? LAC: I respect President Ortega's opinion. I think, though, that it reflects a misreading of the circumstances in which the accord arose. In April, in Spain, it was very sad to hear the Nicaraguan ambassador say that Esquipulas was a total failure. Not only was it an unfortunate remark, but it was completely out of line with reality. Certainly Esquipulas was a joint effort by the presidents who signed it, but the original idea came from Arias. The perseverance to keep the negotiations alive was also his. Arias was always at the centre of the process. IPS: In Managua, you indicated your intention to reach a new agreement within 120 days from Tuesday. What would be the main content? LAC: We want to propose to the presidents that they discuss in depth the document that we will be giving them this Wednesday. Some recommendations for democratisation, security, and economic and social development are proposed. Pending tasks in the region are described. These would, on different timescales, overcome much of the backsliding of the region. If that can be called Esquipulas III, that's fine by me. I didn't give it a name, I just talked about the pending agenda. IPS: Have people understood Ortega's absence from this summit? Did they hope he would be at Esquipulas III? LAC: The only reason the date of the summit was changed from Tuesday, Aug. 7 (the anniversary of the signing of Esquipulas II) to Wednesday was because Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was welcoming Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and asked for the date of the summit to be changed so that he could be present. On Wednesday, Lula will be in Nicaragua. If Ortega had wanted to come to Costa Rica, he too could have asked for the summit to be changed, to Thursday. Clearly, he didn't want to come. IPS: Do you think he doesn't want to continue to participate in this process? LAC: It's inevitable, because no Central American president can turn his back on our common problems. I think it's just a matter of time. None of our countries has a voice or any weight in the international context. Either we all pull together as a region, or we won't get anywhere. I hope that he will overcome these differences, which seem to me to be groundless, and join in a series of common interests. ***** + CENTRAL AMERICA: Poverty and Violence in Times of Peace (http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38822) + RIGHTS-CENTRAL AMERICA: Turning Back to a Murky Past? (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37605) + Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress (http://www.arias.or.cr/index.php?lang=en) (END/IPS/LA IP IF MD DV QA/TRASP-VD-SW/DZ/DM-DCL/07) = 08082238 ORP014 NNNN