What are the key issues on the new Latin American social agenda?

To my way of thinking, guaranteeing sustainable and inclusive growth, with a lessening of the social inequality that has marked our reality for centuries, is the key issue on the Brazilian and Latin American agenda today. We can't allow the social agenda we've adopted and the progress we've made in the fight against poverty and exclusion to be reversed in any way

Another relevant issue on the region's new social agenda, one related to the objectives of the economic and social councils, is the expansion of social participation in participatory planning, as well as in the monitoring and assessment of public policies.

What importance does social cohesion have in the current growth environment in Latin American countries?

Growth with social inclusion has been the goal of recent efforts by diverse Latin American countries. Brazil has been considered an example in the fight against poverty, having surpassed the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)—to cut poverty in half before 2015. According to the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), linked to the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of the Republic of Brazil, the rate of extreme poverty in the country fell by 75% between 2008 and 2010. And it continues to fall: between 2011 and 2012, the number of Brazilians living below the poverty line fell from approximately 19 million people to 15.7 million, a 20% drop in just one year. This reflects impressive progress.

This means that we are growing with quality, increasing people's quality of life. In recent years, the country has not only experienced growth but has also better distributed its wealth. Success in reducing poverty is also linked to a substantial reduction in the degree of inequality in income distribution.

We support the idea of economic growth with environmental sustainability, universal social protection, an increase in the minimum wage, and a more equitable distribution of the benefits of growth; this is the road we are taking in favour of social cohesion, which is a broad concept which cannot overlook the particular characteristics of each region. Increasing social cohesion in Latin America therefore means facing complex and multi-faceted socio-economic problems: it requires efforts to reduce poverty and inequalities, in addition to improving access to education, health, and public services overall.

The EUROsociAL Programme can play a key role by supporting Latin American initiatives in different social areas.

How are Latin American governments confronting the demands of a middle class that's growing and has rising expectations?

In recent years, Latin America has managed to lift millions of people out of poverty as a result of society's demands and other factors. And one of these factors is evidently the consequence of government efforts to implement income transfer programmes, which are the engines of poverty reduction. This is a new middle class that is emerging forcefully in diverse countries in the region, one with access to consumer goods and new employment opportunities, and one that is demanding quality in public services, especially in the areas of health and education.

In Brazil, the socio-economic profile has changed, and the main change has been the strengthening of class C, with intense social mobility: between 2004 and 2010, 32 million people rose to middle class categories (A, B or C), and 19.3 million left poverty. The 94.9 million Brazilians that make up the new middle class represent 50.5% of the population. They possess 46.24% of purchasing power (data from 2009), exceeding that of classes A and B (44.12%), and D and E (9.65%). The new Brazilian middle class is comprised of younger people with a higher level of education (and prepared to raise it); this social class is more demanding when it comes to consuming and deciding where to invest its money, and is mostly integrated into the formal job market.

Our challenge now is to think of paths to prevent any possible reverse. The Secretariat of Strategic Affairs (SAE) of the Presidency of the Republic is therefore planning public policies aimed at social protection that are capable of preventing these people from slipping back into poverty while offering them effective opportunities for stable employment.

How is the crisis in Europe perceived in Latin America?

Brazil is convinced that the crisis cannot be combated solely with austerity policies that accentuate the negative effects of the recession. By growing with social inclusion, with reinforcement of income transfer programmes, expansion of credit for families, strengthening of banks and state enterprises, we have managed to achieve better results in terms of expanding income and employment. In the middle of the crisis, in 2013, we experienced a situation of almost full employment (employment rate around 5%).

Europe and Latin America are increasingly seeking closer relations, how is this exchange viewed in Latin America?

There is no question that exchange between the countries of Latin America and Europe, throughout history, has always contributed to progress in economic, social, cultural and environmental areas on both sides of the Atlantic. The fruits of social dialogue include the European Union–Latin America and Caribbean Organised Civil Society Meetings, which have included Brazilian participation on several occasions and demonstrate closeness and progress in the cooperation between regions. Another important forum for dialogue between Europe and Latin America is the Ibero-American Economic and Social Councils Meeting, with two editions to date, one in Porto Alegre and the other in Madrid.

Your Ministry, specifically, is very involved in Social Dialogue actions with a large regional component. In what policy areas is this collaboration taking place and what impacts are expected?

Thinking about and planning for the future presupposes dialogue with the different social stakeholders to, in this way, find the best paths for achieving growth with inclusion. Brazil's Economic and Social Development Council (CDES), which reached its tenth year of operation in 2013, is inserted in this context of promoting pluralistic dialogue for long-term development between the government and civil society.

Since 2003, the CDES has contributed to expanding the capacity to define, jointly, the major directions of the country. The exchange of information and experiences with councils from other countries and regions, knowledge of different national and strategic realities or tools for dialogue, were essential in strengthening and enriching the CDES itself in its advisory mission to help perfect public policies.

How do you assess the creation of the CESALC Network, and what is on the horizon for this new regional network?

For the CDES, the CESALC Network expands the range of cooperation partners even further, providing an important forum for debating issues shared by the economic and social councils of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

EUROsociAL