The foreign ministers of Surinam and Paraguay arrived in Washington to consolidate support in their campaign for occupying the general secretary chair of the Organization of American States (OAS), which faces multiple crises as credibility and, above all, empty arcas.
The candidates to direct the Organization of American States (OAS), the chancellor of Paraguay, Rubén Darío Ramírez Lezcano, and Surinam, Albert Ramchand Ramdin, presented their work plans on Monday morning to refloat the hemispheric organism in Washington Several crises.
One of the most urgent is the budget sustainability to operate and maintain its template of 1,335 employees, of which some 260 are stranded since the beginning of February due to lack of resources to cover payroll payments.
The Paraguayan Foreign Minister delineated all the fronts that the regional agency that brings together 33 countries of the hemisphere committed to the democratic letter, and said that urgent actions are needed to face the defense of democracy, economic development, respect for human rights and the risks involved in artificial intelligence and misinformation.
But these tasks will not be possible if the body's financing issue is not working as soon as possible, which drags debt of up to 50 % of the countries, added to inflation, he said.
“The budget of our organization must be sincere, we must address a dialogue with the countries to improve it (…) we have the ability to improve our functioning,” said Ramírez Lezcano, who in the round of questions and answers deepened in their strategies before the ambassadors .
If he was chosen to hold the position as of next May 25, he offered his abilities as an economist and experience in banking and multilateral organizations.
For his part, the Foreign Minister of Surinam, Ramdin, also addressed the priorities that his mandate would have. “We are very aware of the challenges we have in front of us and we must create opportunities and solutions,” said the chancellor who arrives from the Caribbean, whose geographical area has committed to the 14 votes of the 33 of the Plenary of the OAS for the next March 10.
Several countries of the hemisphere delved into their concerns about the agency of the organism of some donors to function. Of the Budget of the year 2024of more than 90 million dollars, according to organism records, the United States disbursed 55 million for several programs and initiatives, according to the US mission to the OAS.
The candidate Ramírez Lazcano criticized that this year's budget is being financed with debt, so he encouraged to make a agreed change among all member states to find a quick exit.
The current Budget Agreement of the OAS gives faculties to the outgoing secretary Luis Almagro to “use, as an internal loan, up to 30 % of the annual fees (27 million 664,890) of the Treasury Fund, which allows you to cope to the current expenses already budgeted, ”says the agreement reached last November, so operations would remain afloat.
Challenges in democracy
Both candidates emphasized the challenges facing democracy in the Americas, for polarization, institutional weakening in several countries, and at times when misinformation and new technologies pay the “disenchantment” and the “distrust” of the citizens of the continent .
“The disenchantment in the quality of democracy is a reality,” said the Paraguayan candidate, so he proposed to “bring reforms to strengthen and promote democracy in the region” among these education about democratic values.
The candidate Ramírez Lezcano said that it is necessary to direct “reforms to strengthen and promote democracy”, because there is no doubt of real “risks” in the Americas.
For his part, Foreign Minister Ramdin asked to expand the “dialogue and understanding” that they are a responsibility of the agency's general secretary, whose incidence has been weakened by the lack of effectiveness in the management of Crisis like those of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.
“I see the challenges facing the hemisphere and the OAS and I am painfully aware of the problems of our region, but as a lifetime optimistic, I promise to find opportunities to move forward to this organization,” said Surinam's chancellor.
Applicants also delved on other issues considered pillars of the agency's work in Washington such as development, security and respect for human rights.
USA and Panama question migration
Foreign Minister Ramírez Lezcano included in his dissertation the urgency that demands the immigration situation in the region and said that it has to work together because in Latin America the “issuing, transit and receptors” countries of migrants come together.
The mission of the United States, headed by the interim representative, Thomas R. Hastings approached from the commitment that the General Secretariat of the OAS must acquire to push countries to stick to commitments to reduce migrations that reach the southern border of the country.
Panama, represented by its ambassador Ana Irene Delgado, emphasized that being such a complex issue a single country cannot only deal with massive arrivalsso he asked the candidates to present a position in this regard.
Surinam's chancellor assured that it must work with “strength” and a lot of cooperation between countries to find roads, because after migration is the issue of opportunities, poverty and other problems that together in the continent boost this phenomenon.
The candidates will continue on Tuesday a wheel of consultations with members of civil society, while their teams move between the foreign minister to consolidate blocks of support of the governments of the region that will vote to choose the head of the agency who must face with important challenges in All fronts from diplomacy for the next five years.