40 986 globalization and its consequences eng

8/8/2019 40 986 Globalization and Its Consequences Eng

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GLOBALIZATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE COUNTRIESAND PEOPLE IN MEXICO AND LATIN AMERICA

+Sergio ObesoArchbishop of Xalapa

1) INTRODUCTION

Our world today is characterized by rapid changes, which are reflected in all areas of human relationships and the exchange of ideas and goods of any kind, in scientificdiscoveries, technological innovations, in the various life styles, in values and incultural expressions of any kind, as well as in art and religion. Every day we hear about and experience the consequences of a multi-dimensional phenomenon, the so-called globalization.

Globalization undoubtedly brings new challenges to the social, political, and religiousinstitutions of every country, because it has brought about new and complex social,economic, and political processes which, in turn, have accelerated conflicts inheritedfrom earlier times and also created inequalities in the exchanges taking place, whichimpair the life and development process of people and the marginalized groupsconsiderably.

For some time, numerous analyses have been available and wide-spreaddiscussions are under way, just how much the phenomenon of globalization - whileoffering all countries opportunities for economic growth (but not development) on the

one hand - means, on the other hand, an enormous risk of polarization betweeneconomic blocks and new forms of socio-political and cultural dependencies for thepoorer countries.

Of course, this address does not intend to provide a scientific examination of such abroad scope of problems as presented by globalization; we would rather like to makea modest contribution of a more pastoral character against the background of someof the facts of our lives.

2) GLOBALIZATION AS A PROCESS OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

The nature of the globalization process is the integration of the world into one singleeconomic system, the capitalistic one. The trans-national capital imposes itsconditions, in order to complete its projects of economic development at the expenseof human rights and the independence of sovereign nations. Mexico, like all theother Latin American countries, will be forced to curb its latitude in deciding its ownmodels of economic, social, political, and cultural development. In fact, Mexico hasentered fully into the globalized economy when the country signed the eight free-trade agreements, which affect 24 countries, and when it joined the World TradeOrganization.

By doing so, Mexico took on a development model that is - with regard to the creation

of economic wealth, economic growth, and new jobs - determined completely by thelaws of free trade and fundamentally based on the export sector and the speculationof foreign capital.


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Changing over from a national project to an economic model which is more and moredependent on decisions made abroad, resulted in an excessive growth of the manu-facturing industry, while simultaneously forcing most of the small and intermediatecompanies into bankruptcy. At the same time, the national production chains were

phased out, the foreign debt grew, and the emigration to the North and into theUnited States was encouraged.

The result of the population drain was the decline of rural regions with extremelynegative consequences: agricultural production dropped and our countrysdependency in the area of food provisions rose. Products which had formerlycovered the domestic market, such as rice, corn, and beans, now have to beimported to meet national demands.

It is obvious that the export of semi-finished products as an alternative source of foreign exchange was not the best decision. Over the last decade, exportingcompanies were involved in only 3.4% of the jobs created on the national level, andfor every exported dollar almost one and a half dollars were imported.

While it is true that the decline of the agricultural sector began already at the timewhen the countrys industrialization was given preference, the governmentsspecifically directed economic policies resulted in a growing number of small andintermediate production companies which had to close over the past 20 years.

In 1980, 12% of public expenditures went to the agricultural sector; in 1989 this haddropped to just under 5%. Added to this is the unfair competition of some countries,predominantly the USA, which raise the subsidies for their own agricultural products,while the Mexican government drops its subsidies or eliminates them altogether. And

if Mexico - in spite of the laws of free trade - wants to protect a sector, for instancethe producers of sugar cane with a 20% tax on products with a high fructose content,the US government takes an even harder position and threatens with importsanctions for Mexican products.

Regularly and in six-year cycles, this situation has led to a further rise in poverty,particularly in the rural regions and in the Comunidades Indigenas. Carefulestimates show that in Mexico at least 22 million people live below the poverty line.In contrast, the average income of the richest families, which make up 10% of thetotal population, has risen by more than 20% in the last four decades of the pastcentury.

Poverty and unemployment were the two main reasons for the increase in emigrationto the USA and Canada from Mexico as well as from other countries of CentralAmerica. This is illustrated by the example of Atzlan, a small community of in theprovince of Veracruz: From there, more than 6000 people, i.e. 12% of the totalpopulation, emigrated in one year. The negative consequences are well known:family relationships are disrupted, the fields neglected, the emigrants face great riskswith regard to their lives and their health, etc. Furthermore, this phenomenondestroys the social cohesion of the population in their home communities, withdrawsfrom them their most dynamic and productive forces, alienates them from their culture, upsets the balance of local and regional economies, and also takes the most

capable people away from groups and institutions of the Church.


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3) GLOBALIZATION AS EXPRESSION AND EXPANSION OF NEO- LIBERALISM IN LATIN AMERICA AND MEXICO

Neo-Liberalism, as understood and promoted in Latin America and Mexico, is notonly an economic program but a model of development, which portrays the market as

the ultimate value and elevates it to be the means, the method, and the objective of all human behaviour. It therefore seeks to integrate the lives of people, thebehaviour of societies, and the political actions of governments into this broadframework of inter-dependencies.

The Mexican bishops, as well as other religious leaders in Latin America, havespoken out against this neo-liberal model, because it infringes on human rights andfreedoms, limits the share of all people in the goods of the world, and hamperssolidarity and healthy competition. (see Pastoral Letter of the Mexican BishopsConference 2000, # 323 - 330, and Neo-Liberalism in Latin America, UniversidadIberoamericana de Mexico, 1997, pages 16 ff.)

Our rejection of Neo-Liberalism does not mean that we oppose the efficient use of the resources that are available to a society; we also do not want to limit the freedomof the individual, or speak out for state socialism. We do declare, however, that thereare no absolute institutions which can fathom or guide the fate of mankind. Weemphasize that men and women, as human beings, cannot be pawns of the market,the state, or any other power or institution that wants to establish itself in a totalitarianway.

If we emphasize the negative consequences of globalization, we do not deny someof the positive results of internationalizing science, technology, and communication.We are well aware of the fact that progress in the area of medicine has made inroads

on the decline of certain diseases and increased the average lifespan, and that rapidaccess to information has brought about the exchange of knowledge and skills in theareas of education, production, and employment.

We are also aware that, in catastrophic events, new means of transportation havemade solidarity actions possible on the international level, etc. At the same time,however, we see with great sadness how much greed, consumerism, individualism,hedonism, and lack of solidarity are on the rise and affect ever increasing circles of the population.

Seen from an institutional perspective, globalization has had strong effects on social

policies of the governments toward the weakest sections of the population, whosequality of life is being reduced through cuts in social spending in the areas of health,shelter, education, and support of the rural populations. The macro-economic criteria(low inflation rates, stable trade balances, recovery of public finances through newtaxes, etc.) are given a higher priority than a balanced social development whichtakes everybody into consideration and gives all people the opportunity to grow asindividuals and as communities, with long-term employment, adequate income, andliving quarters and places for recreation which correspond to their cultural identityand are not dependent on the marketing of television and radio monopolies.

A further consequence which is often connected to an undiscriminating expansion of the markets is the decline of a countrys social capital. This capital is basedprincipally on local culture in all its peculiarities and manifold expressions, onknowledge accumulated over long periods of time, on education in all its forms andclassifications, on natural resources, and on the diversity of species. This social


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capital is the result of active cooperation between society as a whole and thegovernment, as long as both sides pursue the strengthening of social and politicalinstitutions in a peaceful collaboration based on mutual trust. This collaboration isrequired so that culture and productivity can be developed in all areas of humanactivity.

This social capital has declined in all our countries. The range of educationalprograms, the quality of raising children, and the awareness for social values isbecoming increasingly more precarious. On average, more than half of LatinAmericas populations suffer from inferior education which subdues peoplesawareness instead of liberating peoples development potential, an education systemthat puts more stock in obtaining a certificate that in an over-all education thatkickstarts an individuals life as a whole. Illiteracy - the absolute as well as thefunctional one - still affects a high percentage of people over the age of 15.According to estimates, the illiteracy rate in Mexico is still 12%, and the number of inhabitants over 15 who have not completed elementary school was 34 million just 6

years ago.We would be very naive if we claimed the greatest concern of our governments inLatin America to be the fate of the poor. That has not been the case for a long timeand is now even less since, according to the free market norm, the poor are notprofitable.

Because of neo-liberal policies, the state concerns itself less and less with theweaker sections of society, as it withdraws more and more from the assistance anddevelopment programs for the poor, even though public discussions introduce newprojects with new names. In reality, social welfare is being privatized, the increase of social and cultural patrimony neglected, and the networkings of social-issue-relatednon-government-organizations weakened. The privatization of social welfare followsworld strategies which do not benefit the poor but enhances the reputation of themulti-nationals.

4) SOME OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBALIZATION ON REGIONALCULTURES

It is a fact that lately a new evaluation of regional and local cultures has taken placein some of our countries, which resulted in a growing acceptance of inter-culturalismand the ethnic, societal, and social pluralism. Yet, the prospects for the future are

discouraging because - in view of the trends promoted by marketing, the globalizationof information, and the above-mentioned inferiority of education - this progress willnot be consolidated.

It is not chauvinism when we claim that in our environment we see the gradualacceptance of mind-sets and patterns of behaviour which correspond to culturalnorms that are foreign to our Latin American and Christian-Catholic way of thinking.By means of the ever-increasing speed of exchange between informationtechnologies, entertainment, and product marketing, many characteristics of aconsumer-oriented, hedonistic, and individualistic world view are gradually beingforced upon us. At the same time, the individual characteristics of our culture are

losing their image, particularly in the case of the indigenas and the people living inrural areas. Communal traditions, the active participation of all in important decision-making processes, the exchange of gifts and tasks for the benefit of those who need


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them, and, above all, the deep conviction that God determines the personal life andthe fate of mankind, all those are being lost more and more.

5) OTHER SIDE-EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION

Without being the direct cause of it, globalization has brought about an accelerationand intensification of several problems from which this continent has suffered for several decades. Let us name a few examples: the decreasing stability of family life;the increase of violence in all its forms; the discrimination of women; the destructionof the environment and the exploitation of natural resources; the intimidation of thosewho defend the human rights of such groups of farmers and indegenas, who arenot in agreement with the expansion plans of a rampant capitalism; the corruption of leaders induced to speak up for the governments policies favouring trans-nationalcompanies; the unpunished freedoms with which gangs of drug dealers andkidnappers can operate; the almost natural acceptance of corruption; the kidnappingand rape of defenseless women; and, last but not least, the replacement of Christianspirituality and mysticism with pseudo-religious practices, which want to have nothingto do with Christian commitment in the fight against sin, in the practice of justice, inloving service to all who are our neighbours, notwithstanding all differences in race,colour, gender, or culture.

6) CONCLUSION AND CALL FOR ACTION

We have described some of the consequences of globalization and its connection tothe neo-liberalistic development model which still predominates in all our countries.In view of these so very complex problems we cannot stop at pointing out the facts.

We have to join together to take on these challenges, brought on by thesecircumstances, and we have to become aware of the fact that - notwithstanding allthese threats from the outside and our own weaknesses - we do possess a potentialfull of opportunities to stand up for Jesus Christs model of living and to enter intonew ways of solidarity.

It would be naive to think that we could contribute to the solution of some of theseproblems by means of short-term or locally limited endeavours or projects. It istherefore urgently required that the meeting, in which we are now participating, bringsus to the point where we think globally in order to then go forth and act locally andserve as members of our Church. The solidarity which makes it possible to face

these challenges requires an open and continuously multi-lateral communication, inorder to present analyses and alternatives which include us all, taking up topics suchas emigration, protection of natural resources, export of our products under conditions of competition, enforcement of workers rights in the manufacturingindustry, adequate and factual information on actual and productive investment of economic and technological resources for a sustainable development, etc.

On the basis of our faith in Jesus Christ who became poor for us and an advocate for the poor, we ultimately must, as Christians and in solidarity with others, take on theco-responsibility and obligation, so that justice and peace for all and the preservationof creation become reality.

40 986 globalization and its consequences eng

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