wfn.org | Latin American Agencies Chart New Course

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National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Email: news@ncccusa.org  Web: www.ncccusa.org

Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2227

NCC11/28/99
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LATIN AMERICAN AGENCIES CHART NEW COURSE
CWS Sponsors Four Day Meeting in Santiago

By Chris Herlinger *

SANTIAGO, CHILE - Meeting under the banner "Seamos Luz
en Los Tinieblas" (We are Light Amid the Darkness),
representatives from a dozen non-governmental organizations
in Latin America spent four days here discussing ways they
and others can strengthen civil society in their region.

The Oct. 26-29 meeting, sponsored by the Latin America
and Caribbean Office of Church World Service, was the fourth
and final meeting this year of representatives of CWS
partner agencies in Latin America who are charting new
courses of development and relief work as part of the Sao
Paulo Process.  CWS is the humanitarian response ministry of
the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

Begun in 1986, the Sao Paulo Process has been a way for
CWS-member partner agencies in Latin America to work with
donor agencies in the North in a more equitable
relationship.

The Santiago meeting was a forum to discuss ways to
"fortify" civil society - groups not affiliated with
governments and that represent different sectors in society,
such as women, farmers, workers and children.

Such groups are working amid a complex set of realities
in Latin America, where often-fragile democracies are trying
to be strengthened while also implementing neo-liberal, or
free market, economic programs. In doing so, nearly all
Latin American governments at the national level have
eliminated social programs, often ceding them to local
governments or to NGOs.

This has placed added pressure on civil society, and in
many cases local governments, to deal with the burden of
worsening poverty. As one example, 90 percent of the worst
poverty in Uruguay is now found in the shantytowns of the
capital of Montevideo, where huge numbers of young people
now live. Few of them have expectations of meaningful
employment.

"We have a time bomb on our hands," said Belela
Herrera, a representative of the Montevideo government who
spoke at the forum. "What happens three to four years from
now, when the young people who are 14 turn 18?"

Complicating the issue is the process by which many
Latin American governments - such as the government in Chile
- are trying to democratize their societies following long
periods of military dictatorship. In Chile, these efforts
have been slowed because the military retains much power
and, as a result, have often excluded popular social
movements from full democratic participation.

This, said Mario Garces, an historian at the University
of Chile who spoke at the forum, has postponed major
political reforms within Chile. "The Chilean transition has
demonstrated enormous limitations," he said.

The Chilean example is but one of several in Latin
America. "Many countries are coming out of periods of
violence; in some cases, war, in some cases dictatorship,"
said the Rev. Oscar Bolioli, who heads the CWS/NCC Latin
America and Caribbean office. "What is needed is a chance to
restore society, and to be able to help new models of
political organization emerge.

"The question today is: We have health groups, we have
groups dealing with popular education," the Rev. Bolioli
said. "How do we build on this? What do we build? What are
the roles of NGOs (non-governmental organizations)? And what
is the role of NGOs in society?"

"Strengthening civil society is an absolute necessity,"
said Mabel Filippini of the Ecumenical Solidarity Action
Center (CEASOL) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, who said the job
is particularly challenging since many people have lost
faith in most public institutions. One exception, though, is
the church - both Protestant and Catholic - which is the one
institution people feel they can go to with social concerns
and discuss alternatives to "free market" ideology.

One point on which participants agreed, Ms. Filippini
said, is that the day of grand social utopias  -- "the era
of revolution" -- over. In its place is the need for civil
groups to focus on realistic and immediate social goals,
often at the local level but also working in concert with
other sectors of society.

In fact, one of the conclusions of the Santiago meeting
was that NGOs need to act as "bridges" between various
groups, be they local community-based organizations or even
government bodies -- though NGOs, the participants
concluded, need to remain cautious when working with
government institutions and not be used for political
purposes.

The recommendations made at the Santiago forum and the
previous meetings held this year will now be presented to
regional groups that will articulate them at the regional
and local level.

Previous meetings this year dealt with the issue of
children at risk (Montevideo, Uruguay in February); economic
alternatives for the poor (Tegucigalpa, Honduras in March);
and human rights (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in
September).

The Santiago forum included representatives from
church- and secular-based organizations from Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras,
Paraguay, Puerto Rico, the United States, Uruguay and
Venezuela.

(* Chris Herlinger is public information officer for the
Church World Service Emergency Response Office.)

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