Latin leaders praise IT, blast trade policies

From...

By Juan Carlos Perez

MIAMI, Florida (IDG) -- Computer technology allows Latin American countries to participate in the global economy, but exclusionary trade policies from larger nations could prevent the region from enjoying the benefits of this technology-driven globalization.

That was the message several speakers -- including two heads of state -- delivered Thursday at The Miami Herald's 5th Annual Americas Conference here.

Information technology -- including the Internet, PCs and telecommunication equipment and services -- gives Latin American nations a bridge to new markets, opens up business opportunities and can thus help reduce the region's widespread poverty, while also fostering political and economic stability.

IDG.net INFOCENTER IDG.net's main page Free daily newsletters Instant help from the Dummies Network Computerworld Communities Related IDG.net Stories AOL Latin America claims fastest growth The digital divide shrinks between U.S. and Latin America New Florida NAPs to improve connectivity to Latin America Features Cool gifts for cool nerds! Your complete guide to broadband DSL bloodbath continues Visit an IDG site Choose a site: IDG.net CIO Computerworld Darwin Dummies.com GamePro.com The Industry Standard ITWorld.com InfoWorld.com JavaWorld LinuxWorld Macworld Online Network World Fusion PC World Publish.com UnixInsider IDG.net search

"Little is known about the effect that computer technology can have over poverty," said Francisco Flores, president of El Salvador, during a question and answer session after his keynote.

In that Central American country, where 35 percent of the about 6.1 million residents live under the poverty line, farmers use the Internet to find international markets for their products, which in turn has increased their sales, he said. And more and more residents, even those below the poverty line, are going online to find information they couldn't access before, he added.

"It's very important that in Latin American countries, technological advances aren't seen as a threat but rather as opportunities," he said.

The Caribbean nation Antigua & Barbuda has taken advantage of computer and telecommunication technology to attract companies that offer Internet, call-center and financial services, said Prime Minister Lester Bird during his keynote speech.

"The new century is centered on information technology," Bird said. His country, whose population is below 100,000, boasts the highest rate of per capita Internet connectivity in the Caribbean and a 60 percent telephony penetration, he said.

But the two leaders warned that the globalization that technology is enabling must be managed fairly to prevent large nations and big multinationals from grabbing all the benefits, such as increased income, jobs and opportunities.

"The opportunity driven by technology will be squandered and the world will be worse off," if smaller countries are elbowed out of the globalization trade dance, Bird said.

El Salvador's Flores expressed a similar concern. Globalization is primarily an economic phenomenon, spurred on by technology, and he is steering his country towards taking advantage of this shift. "We will seize the opportunity by educating ourselves, by working twice as hard," Flores said. But those efforts will be to no avail if small nations aren't given fair access to markets.

"For us, the Chinese proverb must be restated: we do not want the gift of a fish; neither do we expect a lesson on fishing; what we direly need is a chance to fish," Flores said.

Among other things, Antigua & Barbuda's Bird complained angrily about U.S. trade policies in the Caribbean and about what he termed "autocratic" policies adopted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) regarding financial institutions in small countries. The OECD has 30 member countries -- including the U.S., Japan, Mexico, the U.K. and Germany -- which produce two-thirds of the world's goods and services. Meanwhile, Flores' complaints were less specific, saying that "while some countries have unlimited access to markets, others, like mine, can only trade in the periphery of development."