Inthepresent circumstances, LatinAmerica mustpay800billion dollars in thenext15yearsonaccountofitsdebt.Thislevelofservicing willabsorba largeportion ofdomestic savings andtheinflowofforeign exchange, totheextent thatitisimpossible toexpectanincre::ioe inthepercapitaincomeofthe 380million LatinAmericans inthenext15years. Thatwouldmakedevelopment impossible. Therefore LatinAmerica mustceasetobeanexporter ofcapital and internal savings. Colombia, whichhasalwayshonoured itsdebt,hasalready reached acomplete agreement withitscreditors, guaranteed bytheInternational Monetary Fund(IMF), whichenablesittoobtainfreshresources destined formajorproductive projects, suchastheexploitation ofourlargefieldsofcoal,oilandferronickel, andfor thereactivation ofourforeigntrade. Wehaveadopted aprocess ofself-discipline, monitored bytheFund,whichhae already beguntoreactivate oureconomy. Wearefullyawarethattheproblem oftheLatinAmerican foreign debtremains andthatthearrangements madesofarthrough tremendous effortonthepartofsome countries arejusttemporary solutions. Asindicated bythePresident ofColombia, Belisario Betancur, thedebtbombhasnotyetbeendeactivated. Thecountries oftheregioncannotcommittheirincomefromexports beyondthe levelsrequired fortheirproductive activity andforthegradual improvement of theliVingstandards oftheirpeoples. Throughout thisyearColombia, together withMexico, PanamaandVenezuela, the othermembers oftheContadora Group,hascontinued toworkintensively andtoJVM/20 A/40/PV.4. 87 (Mr.Ramirez OCampo, Colombi~) offeritsco-operation totheCentral American countries tobringaboutthesigning oftheContadCii;a ActonPeaceandCo-operation. Thedifficulties thathavearisen inthenegotiations sponsored bytheGroupha'i7enotbeenserious enoughtoovercome thecraving forpeace,buttheyhavecauseddelayinreaching agreement. Weregrettherecentincidents alongtheborderbetween CostaRicaand Nicaragua andbetween thelatterandHonduras, whichindicate theneedtoexpedite theproce~sofnegotiation andtomaint~in Channels ofcommunication between the countries soastoovercome problems through dialogue. TheContadora Grouphas reiterated itswillingness toprovideitsco-operation andgoodoffices inthe searchfor.permanent solutions tothistypeofincident, whichhampers thegood relations thatshouldexistbetween States. TheContadora Grouphashadthesupport andadmiration oftheLatinAmerican Governments, and,ingeneral, thecommunity ofnations. Imusthighlight herethe important eventthattookplaceincurCartegena deIndiason24and25Augustlast whentheMinisters forForeign Affairs oftheContadora Groupmetwiththeir colleagues fromArgentina, Brazil, PeruandUruguay, whohadestablished themselves asasupport groupinLima,toconsider theworking modalities thattheycould offertheContadora Group. Thisistheclearest procfofthepolitical willofLatinAmerica andofits desireandability todeviseastrategr ofitsownforresolving region~l problems. Thatmeeting gaveevidence ofLatinAmerica's solidarity withthe countries ofCentral America anditsconcern overtheCentral American c~isis. It wasdecided toencourage therapidcompletion ofthenegotiation process underway, sincethatcrisisnecessarily affects thefutureofourhemisphere. Themeeting constituted apositive andunquestionable reinforcement oftheworkofthe Contadora Group.JVM/20 A/40/PV.4 88, (Mr.Ramirez OCaJlPO, Colombia) TheeightForeign Ministers ag~eedontheurgentneedtota~leactualand potential conflicts andacknowledged thatthesehavetheirorigininsocialand economic imbalances andthestructures thatrestrictthefreedomofspeechandthe participation ofthepeopleintruepolitical processes thatreflect theessential expectations ofeverysociety. Theresponse tothepresent economic situation inCentral America hashadas oneofitsmostpositive elements thepart'.cipation oftheEuropean Economic Community(BEC). Thisexampleofinternational co-operation fosters ourhopesand encourages thenegotiating effo~~towhichwearecommitted. Thiscoming Novemember, anewmeeting oftheCommunity willtakeplaceinI<uxembourg withthe participation oftheForeign Ministers ofCentral America andtheContadora Group. Atthatmeeting theCommunity willformally demonstrate itssupport forthecause ofpeacebyspecific agreements aimedatensuring theeconomic development of Central America. Wearebattling against time.Thus,on12and13September last,atthe
**Analysis**
The text primarily discusses the economic situation in Latin America, particularly the region's debt and the need for cooperation to overcome the crisis. The author highlights the importance of internal savings and foreign exchange, as well as the impact of debt on development. The text also touches on the role of international organizations, such as the IMF, and the need for regional cooperation to address the crisis.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade