The workshops provided a constructive environment for discussions on how to structure the project and work together in the future. The highlights of the first day were keynote speeches by World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn and Argentine Senator and human rights activist, Graciela Fernandez Meijide. I am not assuming that Bank policies are right or that all the representations made by every sector of civil society are right. Doug Hellinger spoke of the need to bring people to the table. We have seen wages go down, unemployment go up, income inequality grow drastically around the world, productive capacities of countries, small farms and small businesses destroyed, and with it, jobs all over the world.
Women carry the burden of the disintegration of economies and social structures.
Consensus for the devaluation was reached after working with groups that had previously criticized the policy. Undersecretary Ernesto Perez of the Ministry of Finance in Ecuador also pointed out the importance of reaching consensus on policy, but cautioned that it will be important to show the links between macroeconomic policies and micro impacts. The rest of the Forum was devoted to workshops on adjustment issues and methodological approaches for the process of consultation and field work. On Days 2 and 3, the participants focused on policies and impacts. Civil society representatives from each country took turns describing the process they went through to organize and choose issues.