Message-ID: <19980721131717765.AAA176@default> Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 10:17:09 -0300 From: Joaquim Moura <mailto:joaquim.moura@PERSOCOM.COM.BR> Subject: World Bank and "Devel Set" met in Brazil To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
Dear Friends, last week we had in Brasilia an important meeting that gathered together important officers from the World Bank and from the Brazilian government to discuss how we could reduce poverty in our country. The main speaker was Joseph Stiglitz, the WB vice-president who became famous in Brazil six months ago, when, in Helsinki, Finland, he analyzed the cruel effects that neoliberalism and globalization have brought to the poor countries and their populations. In Brazil, where we have a neoliberal president - who have changed the Brazilian law in order to allow him to run for reelection (reelection for president, governor and mayor was forbidden in Brazil to avoid that the politicians use their position as an advantage to perpetuate themselves in the power), So here Stiglitz was more careful and he has even said that in Brazil the harmful effects of neoliberal politics were not so harmful and Brazil will overcome the tragic social conditions we live here...But what amazes me more is to perceive that in this meeting, neither the Brazilians nor the visitors have deepened the discussion enough to reach the roots of the problem and the channel to solution. For instance, I will make a point that nobody has discussed there: how can poverty be alleviated in a general framework of socio-cultural and environmental decay????? Or how can WB address the main socio-cultural and environmental issues if its staff doesn't include people who could help them this way? I know what I am talking about, because there are four years that I try to collaborate with WB team in Brazil but now I perceive that WB has not an open door to local collaborators, regardless the experience and the new ideas they could bring. I - for example - was already, 25 years ago, trying sustainable models to help poor communities overcome poverty, working with cooperativism, community organic agriculture, self reliance, microcredit etc., when WB hated these heterodox concepts. Now, when WB starts to consider valid such models, maybe their officers would be more open to know my recent worries and visions and so saving other 25 years of frustration and worldwide impoverishment. And I am not talking just for myself. I am sure that there are other people in Brazil and abroad who could help a lot... But another problem with WB is that it just listens to and hires Ph.D. holders, and so it cannot receive the collaboration of those people who decided not to pursue an academic grade but who have dedicated themselves to collaborate with society and nature developing activities close to the communities. When I could be studying for my doctorate, 20 years ago, I was too involved to help people to alleviate their problems. Maybe WB needs our collaboration, if it intends to be more effective in the next 50 years than it was in its first half-century of existence. Thanks, Joaquim.
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