La situación de los países "menos desarrollados" en un Mercado Común Latinoamericano

A major problem which Latin America faces today in the process of integration towards the setting up of a Latin American Common Market is that of balancing development in the countries which are to comprise it and, correlatively, how the benefits of integration are to be distributed. The larger the relative inequality among the countries, the larger the difficulties which will have to be met in allotting the benefits. The countries of A.L.A.L.C. (Latin American Free Trade Area) show economic differences more formidable than those of the Central American Common Market (M. C. C. A.), for which reason A. L. A. L. C. has set up special dispositions in favor of the countries with a lesser degree of relative development. Step to be taken preliminary to the establishment of a Common Market are: a) sub-regional integration, and b) sectional integration and complementary agreements; which will make it possible: 1) to achieve on a minor scale that which for the whole is too difficult, and 2) to reduce the differences at present existing among the countries which are to form the Latin American Common Market. Another angle of approach is to provide A. L. A. L. C. with a more efficient administration than the present one. The most complex immediate task is the establishment of common external tariffs, sufficiently adequate so as to allow vital goods to enter on which development depends, and so as to promote the opening up of new opportunities for developing trade with outside countries in order to obtain foreign currencies for purposes of financing not only the importation of consumer goods, but also that of capital goods and, at the same time, provide for due amortization of foreign debt. It is obvious that such tariffs will have to be coordinated with general development plans. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas