UN General Assembly
1988

These really shocking figures must, of course, be seen in relation to the foreign debt problem of the countries of Latin America, at a time when development demands new investments, and the prices of raw materials from the developing world are not remunerative. Although the Republic of Paraguay, fortunately, is not in the same situation as many other countries of the region, we feel complete solidarity with all those who see their future jeopardized by this problem, which is so radically bound up with development and the improvement of living standards. This problem requires not only economic but also political solutions which recognize the moral obligation of the super-industrialized world to the less developed countries. In 1987 the regional foreign debt amounted to $410 billion, and in the last five years the continent has remitted 3150 billion to the international banking system just for debt servicing, amortization and interest, without reducing the capital debt, which in fact has increased because of new loans, in a dangerous race between attempts to improve the life of the majority of our peoples and the unfair distribution of income between North and South.