Opinion Sur
What should truly surprise us is not what is going on in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco and other Arab countries, but that the winds of change should have taken so long to arrive. Poverty, the astonishing social inequity, the harsh restrictions to freedom of speech, autocratic regimes, created a highly combustible mix that only needed some sparks to go off. However, the critical challenge the countries are facing is not just breaking the prevailing order; it also implies the strategic work of building a better, sustainable order. This is a much more complex kettle of fish as multiple repressed interests are now cropping up in the troubled waters. Yes, there are winds of change and it is good that they have finally arrived: they mark a turning point towards much needed processes of transformation; a brave and eventually promising beginning which needs to be worked out with determination and responsibility. How strong requirements are demanded from popular movements that did not have the chance to experience defining strategies and managing junctures!
Yet the jolts had also shaken the United States, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Great Britain and other European countries: inequity and large pockets of poverty even affect affluent countries, as they hit Latin America, India and South East Asia before and now threaten China. Might the winds of change perhaps cross the entire planet?
With that background, in this issue of Opinión Sur we focus on three phenomena that can greatly drain the development potential of our Southern Hemisphere countries: transform without leading the poor towards failure, address possible excesses by certain micro finance entities and protect the countries from secrecy jurisdictions. We hope you find them interesting and useful.
Kind regards,
The Editors
