UN General Assembly
1999

understand, that the self-determination of the Timorese people is not fully assured. We therefore believe that the multinational force authorized by the Security Council — a force in which Brazil was determined to participate from the very outset — will put a stop to the atrocities committed since the popular ballot and will be able to re-establish the necessary conditions for a peaceful transition to independence. Over the past decade, Latin America, long viewed as a land of backwardness and dictatorships, has fashioned a new international image for itself through the transformations it has undergone. The return to democracy in our countries has had a decisive role in this, as did our important achievements in fostering respect for human rights — although much remains to be done. The adoption of consistent economic policies, in turn, has 5 made it possible to overcome the endless dilemmas that had ensnared us, and to put an end to the inflationary spiral that had brought so much uncertainty and injustice to our citizens. Let there be no doubt that the difficulties that we