bk-ideasparasalirdelacrisisIn Latin America, strengthening and deepening public policy is not an alternative. It is indispensable if its high levels of social exclusion and poverty are to be kept from spiraling out of control. Read on to find out how.

(New York) IT IS ESTIMATED THAT LATIN AMERICA’S economy will shrink some 0.3 percent in 2009. Exports, investments, tourism and immigrant remittances will fall. The social impact would be serious in any economy, but in the most unequal region on the planet it could be even worse, due to the dangerous combination of recession and high inequity.

The ILO (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Labour_Organization) estimates that four million jobs could be lost in 2009, and that the number of poor workers receiving wages below the poverty line could increase by five million. The decline in immigrant remittances will seriously affect the 20 million poor families that they protect.

Regarding the millennium development goals of reducing maternal mortality and controlling the school dropout rate, the region was already behind. And then there are the ills of malnutrition. Despite the fact that Latin America produces enough food for double its population, 16 percent of its children suffer from chronic undernourishment. The systems that provide social protection have poor coverage, and unemployment benefits are very limited.

In Latin America, strengthening and deepening public policy is not an alternative. It is indispensable if its high levels of social exclusion and poverty are to be kept from spiraling out of control.

Here are some ideas for the new generation of public policies that is needed:

ONE: PROTECT THE WEAKEST

The priority must be to protect the weakest. Some 35 percent of the population lives in poverty, and a third of those people are mired in extreme poverty. The figure is much higher in indigenous villages and among the African-American population, the handicapped and elderly. Unlike the middle and upper classes, they lack savings to protect them from the crisis. If public policy does not provide them with more protection than they currently have, they will be helpless.

TWO: JOB PROMOTION AMONG THE YOUTH

A critical issue is the exclusion of the youth. One out of every four young people is not present in either the school system or the workforce. The youth unemployment rate is double the rate for the general population, and in several countries it exceeds 20 percent. During crises, young workers are the first to get fired. Vigorous policies promoting youth employment must be designed.

THREE: MORE HEALTH AND EDUCATION

More than ever, it is necessary to protect and increase investment in health and education, which is far from where it should be in many of the countries in the region. The crisis could be lethal in that it could increase the already high levels of infant mortality, maternal mortality and malnutrition. The damage that it could cause is irreversible.

FOUR: SUPPORT TO THE SMES

What public policy really needs to focus on is the reactivation of the domestic market, support to SMEs, the extension of credit and investment in infrastructure, transportation and areas that have a direct impact on employment.

FIVE: REVISE THE FISCAL PACT

The fiscal pact, which is a taboo topic, will have to be revised, as the current one is regressive and inefficient. There is room to make it more progressive, and to lower the current evasion rate of 50 percent. This will make it possible to have more resources at hand for the aforementioned initiatives. There are also potential resources to be found in fixing the typical sumptuary expenses of those countries plagued by inequality, eradicating corruption and reducing military spending, which rose some 91 percent between 2003 and 2008.

SIX: MORE SBR

Public policy will also have to create broad national agreements concerning the aforementioned issues, with civil society in all of its forms, as well as with businesses, based on the idea of social business responsibility.

SEVEN: BOOS T VOLUNTEERING

Volunteering, which could contribute greatly to meeting these social challenges, should be given a boost.

Is this series of ideas viable? Latin America has a lot of strengths in this respect. It has already experienced the market fundamentalism of the eighties and nineties, which caused enormous damage and was rejected by the majority due to their own experience with it.

In contrast, democratization is taking place, and in the past three years, more than 80 percent of people voted for models that put a human face on the economy.

The citizens not only support, but indeed demand policies like these, which put the people first.