SUNS4505 Wednesday 8 September 1999

Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Sep 6 (IPS/Mario Osava) -- Municipalities should have their own forum for participating in the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) trade bloc at a decision-making level, in order to help promote an effective integration process that involves the populace and is not limited to the area of trade.

This was one of the chief resolutions adopted by the fifth Summit of the "Red Mercociudades" (Mercocities Network) Sep 3-4 in Belo Horizonte, capital of the eastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

A Seminar of Journalists held parallel to the gathering of mayors, meanwhile, called for a social communication system linking Mercosur members. "Information cannot be submitted to the laws of the market," stressed Guy de Almeida, coordinator of the Mercosur Programme at the Catholic University of Minas Gerais.

The summit of mayors suggested the creation of a consultative body in Mercosur - South America's leading trade bloc - similar to the European Union's Council of Regions and Cities, said Juan Carlos Zabalza, director of Foreign Relations of Rosario, Argentina.

Mercosur cannot be built "under the exclusive guidance and control of national governments," said the gathering's host, Belo Horizonte Mayor Celio de Castro.

Mayors should urge the presidents of their nations to approve a Mercosur forum for cities at the next Mercosur summit, suggested the mayor of the Argentine city of Mar del Plata, Elio Aprile.

Cities, "the principal agents of social and cultural relations between citizens, and legitimate actors in integration," can contribute to improving the way Mercosur functions, states the 10-
point "Belo Horizonte Charter" released by the meeting.

Integration should be "democratic and participative," and should lead to "a more just and egalitarian world order," states the communique, which also demands greater autonomy for municipalities, with decentralisation of public funding. Comprised of 61 cities from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - the four full members of Mercosur - as well as Bolivia and Chile - which have associate status in the bloc - the Mercocities Network, which criticised as "foolish" the pressure exercised by economic groups lobbying for protectionist measures, is preparing "to neutralise attitudes opposed to Mercosur."

The Mercocities Network, which promotes horizontal cooperation, joint projects, and the sharing of information and experiences, can act as "a network protecting Mercosur" from economic globalisation, which "threatens the identity of local communities and cities," said Aprile.

In a concrete initiative in favour of subregional integration, a group of business representatives from Mar del Plata accompanied the city's mayor to Belo Horizonte to discuss business opportunities with entrepreneurs in Brazil.

The fight against poverty is another concern of the Mercocities Network, which launched a "Social Agenda for Mercosur" with support from the Organisation of American States (OAS).

"For the first time, the OAS is economically supporting a project by cities," said Zabalza, who pointed out that in the past, support from the regional body was exclusively channeled through central governments. He added that multilateral lending institutions like the World Bank already backed programmes carried out by municipalities.

Poverty affects some 300 million Latin Americans, 47 percent of the region's total population, said Benno Sander, OAS director of Social Development and Education.

Reducing that proportion is a challenge that demands "broader social and political action, in conjunction with society," and with cities playing an important role, he told participants.

At its fifth meeting of mayors, the Mercocities Network awarded a 10,000 dollar prize to the best Science and Technology project, as part of a three-year old contest which rewards programmes chosen for their excellence and possibility of replication in other cities.

Curitiba, the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paran , received the award, based on a project involving local residents in controlling water quality, using easy-to-run equipment that does not require extensive training.

Another prize, bestowed by the Canadian government's cooperation agency, went to the Environmental Atlas of Porto Alegre, capital of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, and the Environmental Charter of Mar del Plata, chosen as the top environmental conservation projects.

The Mercocities Network has a databank describing more than 130 exemplary projects carried out by member cities, said outgoing Executive Coordinator of Mercocities Belela Herrera.

As host of the fifth Mercocities summit, Belo Horizonte has now become the Executive Secretariat of the Mercocities Network. The next annual meeting will take place in Rosario, Argentina.

Friday's Seminar of Journalists will also become an annual event, parallel to the gathering of mayors.

The seminar, which drew 21 reporters from throughout Latin America and some 250 students from the Catholic University of Minas Gerais, was promoted by the mayor's office, the United Nations Edcucational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and the Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency.

Participants stressed the need for a stronger communications link between Mercosur members.

Guy de Almeida, coordinator of the Mercosur Programme of the Catholic University of Minas Gerais, pointed out that from the start, the European Union engaged in a flurry of activity informing the populace through books, schools, public offices, radio, film and television, rather than depending solely on the press.

Journalists in Mercosur as well as the European Union were late in understanding the importance of integration processes, according to Claudio Bojunga, director of journalism of Brazil's Educational Television.

But a recent survey indicated that 81 percent of Brazilians considered Mercosur "important" or "very important" - an indication of a true society-wide consensus, said Foreign Minister Luiz Felipe Lampreia at the Mercocities gathering.

That interest in integration has given rise to several journalistic projects in Brazil focusing exclusively on
subregional ties.
Educational TV, for example, broadcasts "Revista Mercosur", a 30- minute news programme with correspondents in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. And the bulletin Fax Paper distributes 30 daily Mercosur news items on business, trade union and cultural activity.

IPS Latin American regional director Mario Lubetkin stressed that what was needed was "quality information" highlighting underlying processes and tendencies, rather than simply facts and events.

The incorporation of the populace into the communication process depends on interactive communication, which cannot be based solely on the latest information technologies, he maintained.

Lubetkin pointed out that next year, there will be an estimated 300 million Internet users worldwide, just five percent of the population. And a full 80 percent of those who have access to the information superhighway live in the northern hemisphere, which means an even smaller minority in developing countries.