Prensa Latina, Cuba

Venezuela Summit Looks at ALBA

27 September 2008

Caracas.(Prensa Latina) The Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) is centering the closing day of the Seventh Social Summit for the Latin American and Caribbean Union.

Representatives from social movements, parliamentarians, researchers, and academics attending the meeting since September 24 in Venezuela will discuss energy integration models like PETROSUR and PETROCARIBE. They will also address natural resources, and environmental issues, as well as media and new technologies.

Venezuelan economist Eudomar Tovar said in one of the forums held Friday that Latin American and Caribbean countries are ready to develop a financial architecture to benefit their peoples.

The creation of the Bank of the South and the Bank of ALBA foster the regional financial market, change asymmetries, and reduce poverty in the area, the former deputy finance minister noted.

Peruvian economist Ariela Ruiz stressed that the US Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with several Latin American nations threaten the processes of integration in this continent.

Ruiz told Prensa Latina that the FTAs eliminate the State’s role in economy and in these moments, she pointed out, the financial crisis proves that the government regulation is necessary, not the market.