Campaign against poverty.

• Position: OAS - Brief Article

NOTING THAT EXTREME poverty undermines democracy, the OAS member states affirmed the need to promote social justice and reduce the gap between rich and poor.

Meeting in October on Margarita Island, Venezuela, the countries reiterated their "commitment to urgently combat the serious problems of poverty, social exclusion, and inequity that affect, in varying degrees, the countries of the hemisphere." In the Declaration of Margarita, they stressed the need to "create favorable conditions for socioeconomic development with equity to promote more just societies."

Venezuela's President, Hugo Chavez, opened the High-Level Meeting on Poverty, Equity, and Social Inclusion, stressing that "without equality, without freedom, without justice, there is no democracy."

Secretary General Cesar Gaviria said the meeting would help ensure that hemispheric integration and the campaign against poverty "deliver the more democratic, more just hemisphere that our citizens demand and deserve." The state and multilateral financial agencies have roles to play in...