The United Nations representative for the UN Development Program (UNDP), Nicky Fabiancic, spoke yesterday during the Biarritz group meeting held in Casa de Campo, La Romana, that the way in which the DR-CAFTA was negotiated does not guarantee the recovery of the Dominican Republic’s economic growth, such as it experienced in the late 1990s. Fabiancic spoke at a meeting where President Leonel Fernandez was meeting with representatives of the Biarritz Group, other former presidents and political leaders from Latin America, in an event sponsored by the presidents Global Development and Democracy Foundation (FUNGLODE). The UN officer pointed out that the free trade agreement is currently one of the most talked-about topics of discussion in the Dominican Republic. Without giving more details, Fabiancic assured his audience that the FTA was negotiated by the United States using a backward model, such as the industrial free trade zones, as reported in the Hoy newspaper coverage of his participation at the La Romana event that brought together several former Latin American Presidents.
“We are presenting a proposal so that talks can open again, both in the Dominican case, as well as in the Latin American case, not only for the FTA, but for free and fair trade,” he is quoted in El Caribe today.
The UNDP representative intervened in the debates at the request of President Fernandez to comment on a recent report in the UN regarding the governance crisis in Latin America. Fabiancic pointed out the worrisome revelation that 54% of most Latin American populations would give up democracy if their economic condition were to improve. The UN report also questions the economic models used in Latin America, models that make the area one of the most unequal, economically speaking, in the world. The II Meeting of the Biarritz Group was called to study the state of governance in Latin America: Parliaments, Presidencies and Governance.