• Latin American Progress Conference
    01.03.2012

    Increase direct taxation derived from personal incomes and reform the labor market to bring out the informal economy are the keys for Latin America to make progress in the social cohesion policies

    sharing: sharing: Increase direct taxation derived from personal incomes and reform the labor market to bring out the informal economy are the keys for Latin America to make progress in the social cohesion policies

    In the last decade, Latin America has reduced by 12 points its poverty rate, but there are still 177 million poor people and 6 per cent of needy people, pockets of population who can only be rescued if the states develop social cohesion policies for which it is necessary to review the fiscal policy and increase indirect taxes, especially personal income taxation.

    Madrid, March 1, 2012

    The former Defense Minister of Chile, José Goñi, recalls that the average social spending in Latin America is about 17% of the GDP, that is 10 point under the percentage EU countries allocate to it.

    Iole Ilíada (Workers Party of Brazil): “In the 90s we were told that we must implement policies to gain the trust of the markets. The result is: structural problems in Latin America such as poverty, corruption and social inequity got exacerbated”

    Pablo Pérez, governor of the State of Zulia and representative of the National Workers Union and opponent to Chávez for the coming elections, promises to allocate 35% of the spending to social affairs if he wins

    Rafael Mezquita, former Minister for the Presidency of Panamá, warns that “if institutions are inefficient and corrupted, citizens perceive that they do not represent the majority, and then it becomes impossible to reduce inequities.”