Bank of the South Progress and Challenges.pdfVIP

Bank of the South: Progress and Challenges 1 Isabel Ortiz and Oscar Ugarteche1 Latin American Network on Debt, Development and Rights (LATINDADD) In South America there is an urgent need to improve growth rates, strengthen internal After a long process of international agreements, markets, and substantially improve the living the Founding Charter of the Bank of the South standards of the population, in order to reverse was signed on December 9, 2007 in Buenos migration patterns, achieve social justice, and Aires by Presidents Néstor Carlos Kirchner reduce income inequality. Since 2006, several (Argentina), Evo Morales Ayma (Bolivia), Luis countries in Latin America began to consider Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil), Rafael Correa the creation of a new alternative bank, “The Delgado (Ecuador), Nicanor Duarte Frutos Bank of the South”, that would utilize existing (Paraguay), Tabaré Vázquez Rosas (Uruguay), regional reserves to finance the development and Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (Republica of its member countries. The Banco del Sur Bolivariana de Venezuela). The Founding should strengthen regional integration; reduce Charter can be found in the Annex of this asymmetries, poverty and social exclusion; document. (See Box 1 and Annex) promote employment; and activate a virtuous cycle of sustainable development, fundamental In the Founding Charter of the Bank of the for the economic, social and political South, the presidents o