Environmental dimension in the political agenda of the ECLAC: still pending equation

Abstract

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has been a reference in shaping development models in the region since its creation in the mid-20th century. The purpose of this essay is to analyze how the theme of the environment appears in development models preached from 2000 to 2020 by ECLAC, expressed in its main documents. In this regard, it is important to emphasize when, to what extent and in what way the environmental dimension, with a sense of strategic concern for nature, appears in the context of ECLAC's concerns and development models. This research is characterized as descriptive, explanatory and with a historical approach, based on bibliographic and documentary analysis, focusing on strategic documents produced by ECLAC. The analyzed documents resulted from the biennial meetings, in which the 44 member states, representatives of the UN system and non-governmental organizations come together to examine the activities carried out and to list future priorities, defining developmental strategies. The result of the analysis showed that the economic and social dimensions have been the main concerns of the organization, defined as strategic for growth, driven by industrialization, technological development and the promotion of equality. The environmental dimension took shape in the ECLAC agenda in the 2000s, being punctuated in the strategic documents, but not with the same importance as the economic and social areas, constituting, therefore, an equation still pending. Attention to the environment appears in a subsidiary and spasmodic manner, guided by international movements; and belatedly, as something desired and never objectified, to the point of generating goals or indicators that encourage the incorporation of the environmental dimension, as an essential and priority element for the development of countries in the region.