Colombian President Álvaro Uribe and his Brazilian counterpart Luis
Inacio Lula da Silva said Wednesday they hope the current economic
crisis will strengthen ties between countries in the region.
Uribe, attending the World Economic Forum held in Brazil, stressed that “the bill of the current crisis should not be sent to the poor” and said Latin American countries should undertake “structural reforms” to create jobs and raise the income of those most vulnerable.
Uribe promoted an increase in public spending, or a prioritization of public spending like in Colombia, to confront the effects of the crisis, saying the development of infrastructure in Colombia now offers the “opportunity” to increase the number of jobs and catch up with richer countries.
