"Equality,Development and Citizenship", the paper prepared by ECLAC for its 28thSession, held in Mexico last April, offers an integrated vision of theinstitution's thoughts on the challenges this region faces as a new centurybegins. These challenges are associated with the growing demands of marketglobalization, but also the extension of universal values, particularly humanrights, social development, gender equality, respect for ethnic and culturaldiversity and environmental protection. The region faces them with a mixedlegacy, associated not only with economic reforms but also the still unresolvedconsequences of the debt crisis and societies marked by poverty, exclusion andsocial inequality.

ECLAC underlines theimportance of building on current achievements in terms of reduced fiscaldeficits and inflation, export development, economic integration and privatesector participation in development. But it also puts forward the need to find adefinitive solution to the complex issues of equality facing the region. Itdefines advances in this area as the standard by which to measure the quality ofour development, in a context of insufficient consolidation of recovery,economic growth and strengthening of democracy.

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Equality, the paperstates, requires integrative social policies sustained by three fundamentalprinciples, universality, solidarity, and efficiency, and two "masterkeys": education and development. Education is key to influencing equality,development and citizenship all at the same time. However, it will only beeffective if the economy is also generating quality jobs. The paper examines indetail the different challenges in these areas, among them universal coverage ofsecondary education and improved quality at every level of education, on onehand, and the need to increase workers' and companies' ability to adapt totechnological change and economic cycles, on the other. It also points out theneed to extend and make social welfare systems more mutually supportive andefficient.

In terms of development,the paper proposes a style of macroeconomic management that pays due attentionto inflation and external balances but also focuses on stable economic growthand employment. It adds that macroeconomic policy must place a higher priorityon the goals of economic growth, based on solid fiscal systems, moderate realinterest rates and competitive exchange rates, complemented by active policiesfor development production. The latter must be oriented to safeguardingcompetition and regulating non-competitive markets, correcting faults inproduction factor markets, stimulating innovation and making the most ofcomplementary qualities among companies that can contribute to system-widecompetitiveness. The paper also points out the need to move toward a fullysustainable development agenda, encouraging forms of competition based on theaccumulation of capital in the broad sense: human, physical and natural.

The citizen agendahighlights the need to apply the development agenda equally and in democraticcontexts. It also indicates that apart from the problems of equality, our regionalso shows growing problems of social cohesion. This makes it very important towork together to build a stronger sense of society, that is, a more broadlyshared awareness of individuals' responsibility to society, along with spacesfor deliberation and reaching agreements, and, in general, a culture thatencourages peaceful coexistence and collective development based on tolerance ofdifference and the negotiated solution of conflicts.