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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Statement of Adolfo A. Franco
Assistant Administrator-designate
Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, USAID
Before Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
December 4, 2001
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee for this opportunity to appear before you today. I am honored that the President has nominated me to serve as Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development for Latin America and the Caribbean, and I am gratified by the confidence that Administrator Natsios has placed in me. If confirmed, I pledge to do my best to serve them and our country.
I would like to thank Senator John McCain and Chairman Henry Hyde for their very kind words of introduction. I am very grateful to them both and will always treasure the privilege and honor I have had of working with these two extraordinary public servants.
Mr. Chairman, I have dedicated most of my professional career to working in the development field, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. Before joining the House International Relations Committee as Counsel responsible for the oversight of our nation's overseas development programs, I served in various capacities at the Inter-American Foundation, an independent government agency dedicated to the promotion of grassroots development throughout the Western Hemisphere.
It was at the Inter-American Foundation that I came to appreciate the importance of promoting American interests by forging partnerships and alliances not only with the governments of the region but also directly with the populations themselves, especially those living in poverty. By focusing and carrying out its development projects on a people-to-people basis, I believe that the United States can achieve the dual goals of providing a better life for the region's disadvantaged populations and attaining true friendship among the peoples of this hemisphere.
While our nation's current pre-occupation with Central Asia and the struggle against international terrorism is both appropriate and necessary, we must not lose sight of our responsibilities and interests in other areas of the world. In particular, we must continue to address the problems we confront in Latin America and the Caribbean or we will risk losing much of the progress the region has made over the past two decades. Left unattended, the challenges we face today in Latin America and the Caribbean could easily become tomorrow's crises.
Mr. Chairman, too many of Latin America's 600 million people are desperately poor and, although democracies have taken root throughout the region, many of these remain fragile. The social, political, and economic problems that the countries confront have not disappeared, and in some cases are worsening.
Economic growth has been uneven within most Latin American countries and often has not reached the poor. Income distribution in the region is the worst in the world. The most egregious examples are in Brazil, Paraguay, and Honduras where extremes of wealth separate the elites from those at the bottom end of the economic scale. Although the percentage of the population in the region below the poverty line decreased slightly over the past decade, the overall growth in population has meant that the absolute number of those living in poverty has actually grown. Nicaragua vies with Haiti in terms of abysmal per capita income. Administrator Natsios is currently traveling in Central America, and I look forward to meeting with him upon his return to discuss ways in which we can address these mounting problems.
Persistent and grinding poverty, little hope for a better life, malnutrition, and endemic maternal and child mortality often lead to passive resignation, continued stagnation, or to social and political instability, narco-trafficking, and emigration to the United States. The recent history of the region should remind us that without the active and committed leadership of the United States, economic and political instability poses a threat to freedom and democracy for all of the countries of the Americas.
It is for these reasons that the United States can and must do more to help the countries and peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean to help themselves. As Administrator Natsios has said, America must have a strong foreign assistance program, not only to help accomplish our foreign policy objectives, but to give tangible expression to the humanitarian instincts of the American people. Properly managed, foreign assistance is a powerful tool for the United States to influence the course of events throughout the world for the better.
This is not only the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do. There is no impenetrable barrier separating us from the problems to our south. Geography dictates that these countries will remain at the forefront of U.S. foreign policy concerns because we will inevitably share in their success or failure.
This understanding guides USAID's activities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In this region, USAID's programs are guided by the agency's "four pillars," namely Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade; Global Health; Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance; and the Global Development Alliance. These programs are considerably strengthened by close cooperation with the work of non-governmental entities, such as foundations, private voluntary organizations, and U.S. corporations.
In addition to its better-known economic development activities, USAID has a broad array of specialized programs tailored to the region's many needs. Improvement of the region's health is a major emphasis and includes programs focused on increasing access to healthcare, improving child survival rates, and promoting HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment, among others. These subjects are of paramount concern in the Caribbean, Central America, and the rural areas of the Andean region.
Equally important is USAID's continuing efforts to ensure that post-hurricane and post-earthquake reconstruction in Central America not only replaces what has been destroyed but helps rebuild these societies in ways that will provide a foundation for genuine and sustainable growth.
USAID's programs have a broader dimension as well. They will help consolidate peace in Central America; strengthen democracies under pressure, such as Colombia; support activities that can enhance a transition to peaceful democracy in Cuba; and encourage the emergence of a pluralistic democracy in Haiti. USAID will also continue to work to build democracy in the Andean region and seek alternatives to the plague of nacro-trafficking that continues to threaten the region. By strengthening democracy in Peru and helping to reinforce it in Ecuador and elsewhere, USAID can play a central role in the U.S. government's efforts to ensure stability throughout the Andean region.
Mr. Chairman, foreign assistance is an essential tool in achieving genuine stability throughout the Western Hemisphere. Because the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are our neighbors, USAID's programs have a major impact on issues that directly affect the United States, such as trade, migration, drugs, and crime. Democratic advances in the region are at risk of reversal if governments are unable to deliver a better quality of life for their people. By supporting these achievements, we can reduce the danger that the nascent democracies in the region will falter, that terrorists will flourish, or that civil unrest will re-emerge. But for development to work, it will require the long-term commitment of the Administration and the Congress to these efforts and a sustained partnership among us all.
I pledge to work with you, Mr. Chairman, and the other Members of this Committee and staff to further the goal of securing a broad-based prosperity, improved health, and strong democratic institutions throughout the hemisphere.
Mr. Chairman, I would be pleased to answer any questions that you or the other Members of this distinguished Committee might have for me.
Thank you.
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Last Updated on: January 02, 2009 |
