Public documents resulting from the presidential summits are usually boring and predictable, but the Santiago Declaration, issued on Sunday, January 27 following the EU-Latin American summit stunned diplomatic circles with a new consensus on the state’s role and responsibilities of transnational corporations.

While many analysts believe the worse of the EU’s financial crisis is over, however as protests rock have rocked Bulgaria and forced the government to resign one might wonder if the worst road lies ahead. Bulgaria is generally considered the poorest member of the European Union and while the country demonstrated wiser financial sense that its Southern European counterparts its finances have been in poor shape since the 2009 financial crisis.

A face of urban poverty in Mexico city. (Photo: Marlon Berlanga)

The 2010 Progress Government Report on the MDGs in Mexico emphasizes that most of the indicators associated with the MDGs and their goals have significantly improved, claiming to have met most of them and anticipating the rest would be met by 2015.

Despite the progress, the report indicates that there is still a long way to go: income inequality and living conditions of poverty and vulnerability in many families still persist; it is necessary to reduce maternal mortality and consolidate gender equality; the vital challenge of environment and higher economic growth is still unsolved.

Tea plantation workers in the protest. (Photo: UCANews)

Experiences of farmer organizations and people’s organizations over the last 15 years show that ecological agriculture is a very effective way of overcoming hunger and poverty and of reducing ill health, and ecological destruction caused by conventional chemical farming.

Over a hundred organizations of farmers, fishers, women, plantation workers and industrial workers have struggled in Sri Lanka for a more logical, workable and people friendly approach and strategy for economic improvement, reduction of poverty and hunger and for social justice.

Today they are able to present a very workable alternative approach to the economy and development process in the country.

Agriculture in Tanzania. (Photo: dw_globalideas/Flickr)

Tanzania is endowed with abundant natural resources but lacks mechanisms for utilizing them effectively for micro and macro development. Invitation to foreign and local companies to invest in key economic sectors is yet to yield expected results. For instance, incentives and tax evasions are so high. The government is therefore urged to diversify the economy and find more viable and alternative sources of revenues for economic development.