Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:59:16 -0700
From: Chris Shaw <cashawlab(at)gmail.com>
To: PhoenixDialogForum(at)yahoogroups.com
Hi Richard et al:
My apologies for not writing sooner (more travel for job, kids, lab,
etc). I had thought that Leo might have written something about the
Quito meeting, but if not, here is a brief summary:
Six of us (Leonardo, Bruce, Srikumar, Dr. Raju, Michael, Chris) met with
Finance Minster Pedro Paez and some 25 of his staff at the Ministry and
the Bank of Ecuador. Hasan was also there. Paez is very astute and
knowledgable of both conventional economics and models of development,
as well as alternative models. To find such a remarkably intelligent
person running a major ministry was astonishing for those of us from N.
American countries where our own equivalent ministers know pretty much
nothing about their topics. The meeting was held in English and Spanish
with translations going both ways although Minister Paez was perfectly
comfortable in both languages. Leonardo summarized the events of
Vilcabama, including mentioning our diverse backgrounds, the purpose of
the Phoenix Gathering, and the key the topics we had discussed. Bruce
spoke about alternative financal structures as well as about how to
enable Ecuadorians living abroad to send home money more cheaply. He
addressed some of his comments to the problems facing Indigenous
communities. Minister Paez summarized some of the economic difficulties
facing Ecuador and how the government was approaching these at both
national and regional levels. Some of his staff elaborated on these
topics. Hasan presented his report on streamlining the financial
transactions by businesses.
The Minister had to leave at this point (he had given us 4 hours of his
very busy day) , but most of his staff stayed on for another hour and a
half.
After Paez left, I addressed my comments to the goal of preserving the
Yasuni by using the potential knowledge contained within to address
unmet human health needs. I sketched out how an Ecuadorian Institute of
Biodiversity and Health could be created and run. Michael spoke briefly
about relocallization and how encouraged he was by what he had seen in
Ecuador in general. Dr. Raju and Srikumar addressed spiritual
connections to the current situation as well as the challenges ahead.
At the end of the meeting, one of the senior economists, Ruben Diaz
Silva, approached us to continue the discussion. Bruce, Carol (who had
been patiently waiting for us), Hasan, Leo, and I went for drinks with
Ruben to discuss these topics in more detail. The discussions continued
over dinner (Leo had to go: he said his wife would kill him!). Ruben
asked for us to write a letter summarizing the Gathering as well as the
material presented at the meeting with the Minister in the form of a
proposal of specific goals that he would, in turn, present to President
Rafael Correa. We were also encouraged to return to Ecuador to consider
how these goals could be made into reality.
The most remarkable event was this: On the return to our hotel later
that evening, we (Bruce, Carol, I) found one of the Indigenous
representatives who had been at the meeting waiting for us in the hotel
lobby with his father, son, daughter in law and granddaughter. They
thanked us for being there and for our comments about Native communities
and presented us with gifts. We all linked hands then and they conducted
a Quecha prayer ceremony right there in the lobby. We were invited to
visit the Indigenous University in Quito and to see Native communities
when we came back to Ecuador. It was profoundly moving.
Bruce and I worked on the draft letter over the course of the next week
and sent it to the others who had been present for their comments and
modifications. The final letter was sent to Ruben earlier this week.
We expect it will be on President Correa's desk in due course. Anyone
interested in seeing the full text can write to Bruce or me.
Back home in Vancouver the Work Less Party is gearing up for the
November civic election. Many of the themes of the party remarkably
resemble those of the Gathering. I reworked parts of the declaration we
had discussed at Montesuenos into a basic party platform whose tenets
include: the impending economic and environmental collapse and what
positive and workable responses we can take now. These include: a new
model of governance, localization, innovation, education, and
alternative finance. This document is now being discussed by the
membership. I'd be happy to send this to anyone who may wish to see it.
So there you have it: real outcomes from Montesuenos. While the impact
has yet to be determined, it is clear that we did not labour in vain.