Addressing this year’s last meeting of ALADI’s Committee of Permanent Representatives, the Uruguayan diplomat said that 49 million Latin Americans are suffering from hunger and 54 percent of them are informal workers, deprived of health and social security systems.
He said that the richest 10 percent of the region’s population get 57 percent of the wealth produced.
Abreu mentioned the scourge of drug trafficking, as part of which organized crime moves significant financial resources that promote violence, corruption and marginalization.
He considered that the world map is being reconfigured against the backdrop of rivalry among great powers, in which Latin America “does not seem to be part of the problem or the solution.”
He pointed out that the region continues to depend on a few raw materials, while other regions advance in the control of value chains and technology.
In this regard, he noted that Latin America’s commercial weight only amounts to 11 percent of the world’s and pointed out that integration is essential to build a prosperous future in this region.
In his speech, the Secretary General of ALADI wished good health to Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio da Silva, who is recovering from surgery.
The meeting marked the end Cuba’s mandate as chair of the Committee of Representatives of the Association in the last semester.
Cuban representative, ambassador Jorge Martí, thanked members of the committee for their support, as he handed over the post to Colombian ambassador to ALADI, Francisco José Coy.
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