Panel: The Opportunity Agenda in the Americas

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The World Bank’s Jorge Familiar and the Carnegie Endowment’s Moisés Naím conversed on the expanding middle class in the Americas, crime and security, the innovation agenda, and energy.

Speakers:

  • Jorge Familiar, Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean, The World Bank
  • Moisés Naím, Scholar, Carnegie Endowment; Author and Contributing Editor, The Atlantic
  • Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Council of the Americas (Moderator)

Jorge Familiar, the recently appointed vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank, and Moisés Naím, scholar at the Carnegie Endowment, spoke at the 44th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas on the topic of “The Opportunity Agenda in the Americas.” The pair discussed issues such as the expanding middle class in the Americas, crime and security, the innovation agenda, and energy.

Naím spoke about the three “supercycles” driving development in the region: commodities, easy money, and super populism. Over the past decade, money coming into the region has stemmed from the commodities boom, while populists continue to exert their influence in certain countries. The question is if these will slow down.

Speaking about the problem of insecurity in the region, Naím stated: “[E]ven in war zones, the crime rate is not as high as in Latin America.” As such, Naím posited that tackling crime should be a priority for the next decade, adding it is a matter of changing cultural mores, involving media, television, and churches.

The panelists also talked about opportunities in the region when it comes to innovation. Familiar spoke about Latin America’s position compared to the Asian tigers, where it can be expensive to foment innovation, which is a large challenge for education in the region. Naím was less optimistic about the development of innovative products and systems in the Americas.

“Innovation in Latin America is always a miracle,” he said.

Naím contended that innovation is costly and a habitat is needed for innovation to flourish. The lone inventor in the garage is a myth, he said. Innovation takes place in companies or with individuals. Indeed, in Latin America innovation suffers because of extensive human capital flight. Universities are behind with regards to science and technology, and innovation does not prosper due to these bad universities and limited resources.

Both panelists agreed that the region is an emerging energy superpower. Familiar pointed to hydropower resources, saying the region has the highest concentration of hydro in the world. Other technologies such as biomass are also growing and innovation in energy feedstocks will continue to flourish.

“Demand for energy in the next 20 years will double and decisions that we make now will impact our future,” said Familiar.

Naím also mentioned that Petrocaribe, the subsidized petroleum program from Venezuela to countries in Central America and the Caribbean, is in danger of being shuttered. Such a move would lead to an energy crisis for these small nations. However, without a transition in government away from Venezuela’s Bolivarians, Petrocaribe will almost definitely continue, he said.