If there were fora for negotiation among corporate groups, they were trade unions, students, peasants, entrepreneurs, etc. The system was not based on a social and political pact that recognised the exercise of rights as a condition of citizenship. In the most extreme cases, trade unions and some political parties could only operate clandestinely, because of the marked intolerance of many former regimes in the region.

The last three decades of the last century were a decisive factor in the removal of dictatorships, the breakdown of authoritarianism and the entry into effect of democracy, as the most acceptable or beneficial political system for governing our societies. At least, this was how it was proclaimed at all levels of the international community, including multilateral organisations and the world’s most powerful governments, whose influence in the past had been decisive in reproducing the old order.

Not leaving any country out, we could say that we still have not overcome the first thirty years of democracy, and that in light of five centuries of oppression, we have made good progress. However, when we move on from the ground we have gained, we cannot progress by comparing the present with the negative burdens of the past. We must therefore recognise that we are living in a deficient democracy that is demanding an imperfect settlement.

The main component of this balance has been the inability to overcome existing levels of poverty and inequality over these three decades of democracy, and even though we have been able to make major changes in the political arena, the same has not occurred in the social and economic spheres. These are fundamental factors that would enable people to exercise fully their rights.

There is no denying the extreme levels of poverty and inequality that keep more than half of our population on the fringe of civic participation, and which prevents them from fully exercising their status as citizens. We are not referring to the right to exercise universal suffrage, which is so widely accepted, but to access to education, health and steady employment.

As Kofi Annan(1) said: “…Granting all people formal political equality does not create an equal desire or capacity to participate in political processes - or an equal capacity to influence outcomes. Imbalances in resources and political power often subvert the principle of “one person, one voice” and the purpose of democratic institutions”.

Now, the challenge for our countries is to remove the democratic deficit. To do this, we cannot pay attention to only the political sphere but to social rights, which are the cause of the poverty and social inequality that are faced on the Continent, especially because political surveys have begun to reveal to us that citizens are associating democracy with the inability to come out of poverty.

Dr. Rubén Silié Valdez is the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States. The views expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Feedback can be sent to mail@acs-aec.org

16 May, 2005

(1) Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN, 2002.