According to the author, the main challenge our countries face in dealing with their vulnerability vis-à-vis the financial crises that have shaken the world in recent years is to develop appropriate instruments that may allow them to manage periods of economic boom. In most cases, the crises are the result of badly managed booms since national authorities tend to have more room for maneuver during such times than during periods of economic crisis. In the author’s opinion, the same can be said of international institution. Thus, policy makers must shift their attention from managing crises to managing economic booms.

According to FLAR, Latin American and Caribbean countries could consider economic union as an alternative to effectively compensate for the contagion from foreign financial crises and to stabilize their economies. To this end, the countries of the region should adopt a number of internal economic measures and develop their own supra-national financial organization, something like the IMF, to foster the consolidation of regional integration and open the door to monetary union, the forerunner of political union, the ever present Bolivarian dream.

In a global economy, no country is safe from contagion from an international financial crisis. For this reason and considering the experience of Asian countries and the harshly learned lesson that globalization is a two-edged sword, the author suggests that Latin American and Caribbean countries adopt a series of measures to prevent and administer eventual crises. These measures include the control of capital, foreign exchange regimes, macroeconomic measures, second tier reforms, financial assistance to the private sector and regional cooperation.

Throughout most of the 1990´s trade within the Latin American and Caribbean region grew steadily at a 12% annual cumulative rate, reaching a total of US$49 thousand million in 1997. Today, as a result of the international financial crisis, it is estimated that intra-regional trade in 1999 will decrease by 30% compared to 1997. This development is similar to the situation experienced in 1981 and 1983, when the great foreign debt crisis rocked the region’s economies. According to the author, this boom and fall of trade flows forces us to reflect on the consequences the current crisis may have on the consolidation of integration arrangements in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Globalization and its effects are producing a number of legal and political developments that are transforming society. The author points out the strong links that exist between both types of developments. For example, the law is undergoing a transformation but no one seems concerned with this “mutation”, as he calls it. And yet, this could affect the ways and mechanisms through which society manifests itself in a coherent and homogeneous manner when faced with problems.

The recent international financial crises have revealed not just Latin America’s and The Caribbean’s permeability but also their vulnerability to external factors outside their control. This means that the time has come to introduce changes in these countries´economic policies. One of such changes involves reinstating the state’s guiding role and strengthening its capacity to intervene in financial markets in order to reduce vulnerability vis-à-vis monetary upheavals.

This article is a summary of the paper prepared by the author during his end of 1999 internship at SELA´s Permanent Secretariat, completing requirements for his Masters Degree in International Relations at Johns Hopkins University. In it, the author singles out the main factors determining Latin American and Caribbean economies' vulnerability vis-à-vis international financial upheavals and evaluates the national, regional and international options these countries face to confront the volatility of financial markets.

The countries members of the European Union and MERCOSUR have agreed to conclude an inter- regional political and economic association by not later than the year 2005. Even though negotiations to this end have suffered a number of ups and downs, during the first EU-MERCOSUR summit held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1999, the countries concerned renewed their commitment to achieving such agreement. In this article, the author suggests a number of options to assist Southern Cone countries in their negotiations with their European counterpart, particularly regarding agricultural products, a highly sensitive issue for both parties.

This article examines the relationship that exists between regional agreements and macroeconomic performance. It is divided into four sections. The first section analyzes intra-regional trade flows between several Latin American trade blocs. The second section examines the relationship between trade blocs and real foreign exchange rates. The third discusses the factors that determine real foreign exchange rates. Finally, the fourth section focuses on the detection of potential unbalances in the external sector and, to this end, discusses the results of calculations on the imports and exports elasticities of Latin American countries during the period 1950-1997.

This article examines the development throughout the world and in Ibero America in particular of guarantee systems as a mechanism to ease micro, small and medium sized enterprises´access to financing. SMEs, the author points out, play a dynamic role in the creation of wealth and jobs.

At the opening session of the XXV Ordinary Meeting of SELA´s Latin American Council Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Relations underlined the work carried out by this organization throughout its 25 years of existence and called upon its member states to make of this “home of Latin America and the Caribbean”-as he called it- a venue for “political coordination on economic issues”.

Upon concluding his four year term as SELA´s Permanent Secretary, the Argentinean Ambassador, Carlos Moneta, warned in his farewell speech that the major challenge our region faces is to succeed in participating in the ongoing financial, trade, technological and cultural globalization while, at the same time, reaching an integral and sustainable level of development. To this end, the coordination and cooperation between Latin American and Caribbean countries is “urgent” and the importance of regional institutions such as SELA is once again reasserted.

Upon beginning his 1999-2003 term as SELA´s Permanent Secretary, the Chilean Ambassador Otto Boye pointed out that today the Latin American and Caribbean region is a reality with its own historical and cultural heritage. Its unity and integration, however, is a goal yet to be achieved due to the absence of a strong institutional framework capable to carry out such endeavor. In this regard, he underlined that it has been and will continue to be SELA´s major task to contribute to making Latin American and Caribbean integration a reality.