ISSR Special Issue on Latin America Presented in Buenos Aires

ISSR special issue on Latin America presented in Buenos Aires On 21 November 2005, the special issue of the Review devoted to social security in Latin America (Vol. 58, No. 2-3, 2005) was presented in Buenos Aires. The presentation took place in the Islas Malvinas hall at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security and was chaired by the Minister, Carlos Tomada, who is also Chair of the ILO Governing Body. Alejandro Bonilla García, Chief of the ISSA’s Studies and Operations Branch, travelled to Argentina specially for the event. Alfredo Conte Grand, Argentina’s Secretary for Social Security, and the guest editors of the issue, specialists Fabio Bertranou (ILO) and Octavio Jiménez Durán (ISSA), also took part. Speakers emphasized the major role played by the ISSA in the development and support of social security programmes in the region, as well as the importance, the relevance and the utility of the technical and theoretical information provided regularly by the International Social Security Review. How can social security systems be improved and reformed? Without a shadow of doubt, as is widely recognized both politically and socially, the most urgent challenge facing social security schemes and programmes is that of extending coverage. On average, fewer than two out of four workers

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in the region have access to social protection under current social security schemes, which in any case are far from effective. This means limited access to social protection for many. The enormous gaps in coverage expose workers and their families to risks which affect both their current and future well-being. The poor image both of governments as administrators of social security and of other social protection institutions, both public and private, has brought about a loss of confidence and support on the part of the insured population. This in turn has led to low participation rates and increased avoidance and evasion of social security contributions. Various aspects of the control and management of decentralized systems and/or those delegated to private administrators also need reform and improvement. Exposure to external shocks coupled with poor financial and fiscal management has produced high volatility, with strong impact on fluctuating economic activity, unemployment and tax income, and thus on the financing of social protection. Effective macroeconomic management based on prudent fiscal policies is required to create the necessary conditions for the proper development of schemes. Macroeconomic stability and economic growth are prerequisites for the proper financing of social programmes, particularly those designed to combat poverty and inequalities.

Journal compilation © 2006 International Social Security Association

International Social Security Review, Vol. 59, 2/2006

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Reducing inequalities and inequities in access and benefits means overcoming the main social and political challenge in the region; this concerns not only social security but also other interrelated issues such as the labour market, civil rights, exposure to violence, and the quality of urban life. Models of social protection differ widely throughout the region as a result of differences in current levels of socioeconomic growth and stages of historical development. It would have

been overambitious to try to tackle all the complexities and challenges of social protection in Latin America in a single issue of the International Social Security Review. Taking the challenges facing social security programmes in the region as our starting point, we therefore chose to concentrate on topics of particular importance and current debate which we felt might also be of general interest to readers in other parts of the world. Octavio Jiménez Durán

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© 2006 The author(s)

Journal compilation © 2006 International Social Security Association