International cooperation faces the greatest global challenge of the last decades, not only for war conflicts and climate change, but for a greater challenge: which materializes in a very significant reduction of funds for receptive countries. Although, many of them relative to the absence of the United States and the low representation of other countries was decisive for the final balance of the event.
It is enough to remember that one of Donald Trump’s first political decisions in his second term was, which contributed more than 40% of world aid. As justification, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, declared on July 1 that “USAID marketed his programs as a charity, instead of as instruments of US foreign policy aimed at promoting our national interests,” renouncing the solidarity objectives that cooperation has historically had. He also criticized the volume of investment of the last decades that, in his opinion, were funds dedicated to actions with poor results. Unfortunately, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), other countries as relevant in the contribution of funds such as France, and the United Kingdom are also cutting their contributions.
The contribution of the American agency to Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for more than 20% of the total financing that the region received, so these cuts aggravate the fall in funds experienced in recent decades
The contribution of the American agency to Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for more than 20% of the total financing that the region received, so these cuts aggravate the fall in funds experienced in recent decades. If in the 1980s it received about 20% of world aid, it is currently at less than 10% (ten billion dollars a year).
The in the region faces increasing challenges, and with the ads of financial cuts by the countries that have historically contributed, demands a reflection on those strategies that have not worked, but also delving into the successful models that have been carried out in Latin America such as, for example, southern cooperation.
Probably, it has been a clear lack of focus on priorities, either due to bad external decisions not aligned with local definitions and needs, or by political decisions that have given short -term solutions to really structural strategies.
A paradigmatic example of this has been lived in the education sector in Latin America: in the last two decades, billions of dollars have been invested in technological devices and in programs that are not consistent in which the lack of connectivity or teacher training have bound them to failure.
Another important point to reflect is the growing role of. In the last decade, according to data from the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-CAF, 70,000 million dollars will have been dedicated in the region. Returning to the example of education, the funds allocated would be in a fork of 3,000 to 5,000 million dollars. However, many of the educational projects launched, and even in some cases responded to the interests of the foundations that have the support of the main global technology companies.
Among the strategies and actions that work highlight the increase in the last decades of South-South Cooperation, which allows technical cooperation between the countries of the region
Therefore, the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI) in its report extolled philanthropy and public-private alliances, but highlighting that “their interventions must align with national policies and respond to local contexts to be sustainable and equitable,” To which we would add that its origin must always respond with neatness to fiscal compliance in countries of origin and destination: zero evasion and zero avoidance.
Among the strategies and actions that work highlight the increase in the last decades of South-South Cooperation, which allows technical cooperation between the countries of the region. It seems clear that the reduction of funds from northern countries will continue to enhance this type of cooperation, which moves around 400 million dollars annually, and that allows not only greater economic and strategic independence, but also facilitates the use of experiences in similar environments that have already been able to prove successful results. In this sense, multilateral banking such as coffee or, as we can prove from the OEI, not only as providers of financial resources, but as articulators between governments, promoting transparency and accountability.
Given the growing challenges that the Latin American region is experiencing, the solution should not be in any case the reduction of funds for cooperation and development. However, the nationalist isolation that we are living and that manifests itself in the trigger of funds, forces to reassess all the action strategies. The establishment of clear objectives aligned with the needs of the region, as well as the efficiency in the use of resources, the coordination of all the actors involved and greater regional integration will be key to the new world order we are living.
