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Democracy cannot be imposed, the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, stressed today at the first plenary session of the 35th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), in the American city of Fort Lauderdale, in the state of Florida.
"It arises through dialogue." This was just after a proposal was made by the Americans to form a group to take steps to strengthen the application of the Inter-American Democratic Charter among the countries of the Americas.
The Minister said that application of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, approved by the 34 OAS member countries in 2001, should be "firm, but balanced."
According to Amorim, "cooperation and dialogue, more than interventionist instruments, should be the key concepts guiding its application."
He added that the Inter-American Democratic Charter should also bear in mind the principles of the OAS, "which represent the search for an order based on peace, justice, cooperation, development, solidarity, respect for national sovereignty, and non-intervention."
The Inter-American Democratic Charter recognizes that "representative democracy is indispensable for stability, peace, and the development of the region, and that one of the goals of the OAS is to promote and consolidate representative democracy, respecting the principle of non-intervention."
In his speech Amorim emphasized that the Charter evokes essential principles and contains the necessary flexibility to react to situations in which the democratic order is threatened.
To make it more effective, he underscored the importance in the economic area of eliminating the "millionaire" subsidies forced on the poorer countries.
"The developing countries need fair international trade rules that guarantee their products access to the markets of the rich countries and don't create insuperable obstacles to the promotion of industrial, technological, and social development policies," he concluded.
Agência Brasil
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