Remarks at the Youth Democracy Conference

Remarks at the Youth Democracy Conference

SECRETARY POWELL: It’s great pleasure to be with you. As I was saying a moment ago, I’m sorry I was a little late, but I always love to have the opportunity to speak to young leaders, young people in a country. I do it all over the world.

Before I came back into government as Secretary of State, I was in charge of a program, a foundation to help young people in America. America has a reputation of being a rich country, a superpower, a country with everything, but in my country we have young people who are in poverty, who are very much in need, who don’t have the right kind of health care, who are not getting the right kind of education and so before I came back into government, I worked with this foundation to try to convince people who do have resources, who do have money, business leaders, other leaders, to get more involved working with those young people in our country who are in need. No child should be left in need as long as there are other citizens in that country that have the capacity to help those young people.

We’re not going to lose any more time with me giving a speech because you’ve heard from some of the people from the Embassy. What I really would like to do is not so much give you a lecture, but to hear to what you are interested in and to deal with questions you might have. And, so let’s just start the questioning and then we’ll see where we go. Who would like to start with a question? Yes, sir.

QUESTION: I’m (inaudible) from Mexico. I would like to know if there is a chance that we would see a Republican Administration, sort of a program as it was in the 60’s, the Alliance for Progress? We’ve been discussing Free Trade Agreements, but as a Mexican I can see that macroeconomic development is really high, but inequality is accelerating really high, so there’s no redistribution. I was wondering if the George Bush Administration or a Republican administration, we can expect that?

SECRETARY POWELL: I think in a Republican Administration, I’ll speak for this Administration, we have done a great deal to try to break down trade barriers and I think NAFTA has been a very successful arrangement. It has increased jobs in both countries and increased wealth in both countries. All of the other things we are trying to do with our trade arrangements, Free Trade Agreement with Chile, the ATPA, a Central American Free Trade Agreement, Andean Free Trade Agreement: all of these for the purpose of breaking down trade barriers.

It becomes more difficult to make sure that when you break down these barriers those who are most in need receive the benefits of this flow of wealth going into the country. That very often requires structural changes in the country. It is not enough just to break down the barrier, you have to invest in the people in the country, so that they can get the education and prepare themselves for the kind of jobs that are going to be available. And so, as you start to deal with these macroeconomic and microeconomic issues, I think perhaps one of the most important things that we have to do, and you have to be concentrating on as young leaders, is how do you train young people who are living in poverty to give them the skills that they are going to need for a 21^st century economy.

We have new programs coming along - the Millennium Challenge Account. We have just identified the first three countries - Honduras, Nicaragua, and Bolivia - to start to receive funds from the Millennium Challenge Account. I hope that Congress will be providing up to $5 billion every year to allow us to do more for countries around the world to build this infrastructure. I’ve seen a lot of countries where those at the top of the economic and social ladder continue to do well, but those down below, unless they get the skills they need, unless they are given the infrastructure they need, the roads, the internet, good health care to take care of disease problems that might exist, HIV/AIDS, other infectious diseases. You have to approach it as a comprehensive problem.

And yes, the Bush Administration and frankly, the American people want this to happen. We have a variety of programs. Not quite the same as the one you discussed from the 60’s, but I think even more important and more effective and with more resources going then the kinds we had in the 60’s.

QUESTION: (in Spanish). Good morning. I’m Jaime Chamorra from Ecuador. Welcome to my country. One serious threat to democracy is terrorism. Not only a threat to democracy, but to life itself. You have set as an objective, as a state objective, to combat terrorism and you have implemented several regional plans. You support Plan Colombia and possibly as well the Plan Patriota. Have you analyzed the impact that the implementation of these programs has on the neighboring countries to the conflict in Colombia? I’m talking about the bordering countries and also to the economic influence of these programs on the poverty, the lack of employment and the migration of the people who live in these areas?

SECRETARY POWELL: Yes, we have. We are not only interested in supporting a particular country, such as Colombia with Plan Colombia, but we put additional requests for money to provide assistance to the neighboring countries, who are often affected. If you go after drugs in one particular place or you deal with terrorism in one particular place, there is the danger of pushing it across the border into Ecuador, or into Venezuela, or somewhere else like that, or Peru. And so we have to make sure that we are seeing it not just as a single problem in a single country, but a regional problem, as well.

The one thing that is clear is that terrorism affects everybody. There is nobody that is safe from terrorism. No civilized nation is safe from terrorism. That’s why President Bush has been so forceful in his advocacy of additional law enforcement cooperation, intelligence cooperation and cooperation in terms of learning about the flow of funds between terrorist organizations, because nobody can sit back and say this is only an American problem or only something that happened in Madrid. All of us face it. I mean you had right here in Quito, you have these pamphlet bombs that go off. All of us are facing terrorism. All of us have to be united. And, we view it as a comprehensive problem.

Ultimately you have to, going back to the first gentleman’s question, you have to give people hope so that never think that terrorism is a proper answer. If they see that they have a democratic government that is investing in their schools, educating their children, giving them quality health care, and most of all giving them jobs, so that they have dignity, so that they can go home and say, “Look, I have work. I have money. I can take care of my family,” then you will deal with the problem of terrorism. You have to fight terrorism, but you also have to fight the sources of terrorism that fuel discontent within a society.

QUESTION: (in Spanish). Without a doubt we have here gathered here an important group of young people from Ecuador and Latin America. I applaud them for being here today and for those of you who have made it possible for us to be here meeting today, particularly for arranging the presence of this official from the United States, a country to which we are linked forever. We are a nation within a continent that just like the rest of the countries of Latin America looks to the United States as a country that provides us with alternatives, as is the case with the free trade agreement. However, I wanted to highlight an issue. As a young Ecuadorian, I’m concerned about the situation in country, for the future of my country. We, unfortunately, have a fragile democracy, like most of the countries of Latin America. But frankly, beyond the situations of terrorism, the extreme positions that some groups in the world take, the important thing is the poverty that the people live in.

I believe that the poverty in which the people live, the Latin American man and woman, that’s the most serious problem. If this situation continues or if it gets worse, we will, unfortunately, have the people protesting in a way we might call terrorism. I think that this where the United States should focus - on strengthening democracy, but in a way that makes it possible for these people to have the possibility to live.

Today I think, more than anything, we need to struggle for equality. You are very correct when you said it. You began with the struggle in the United States, because the rich, because those who control the means of production, should allow those who have less to live with dignity, and we should do the same in Latin America.

SECRETARY POWELL: Of course, there is nothing wrong with doing well in a society and creating wealth at a high level, because in the creation of that wealth, you create jobs for people who are lower in the economic order. The more successful entrepreneurs we have, the more people we have getting wealth, getting rich, the more money will be available to invest in the society to create jobs. We should not see that there is necessary conflict between those who do well and those who are in need. In fact, those who do well are the real source of resources to help those who need jobs. They’re the ones who will invest.

So, you need the right balance between assistance from outside: America giving aid to somebody and people investing in your country. The best aid is when people invest in your country. They will invest in your country when they are confident that the rule of law exists in the country, where there is no corruption, where there is democracy, and where their investment will be protected, and when there is a skilled workforce and when there is an infrastructure that will support investment.

For example, I visited a country far away from here not too long ago. It is an undeveloped country coming along. I couldn’t get on the internet. They did not have a phone system that would support the internet. A modern company is not going to invest in a country like that until you start to show that you are prepared to invest in your infrastructure. There is no one single solution. It is a comprehensive approach that is required: good politics, good governance, rule of law, no corruption, democracy, and then a willingness to attract investors and a willingness to use aid wisely and ultimately make sure that the benefits of democracy reach down and touch the people who are in greatest need, or else they won’t believe in democracy.

QUESTION: (in Spanish). The type of leadership that we see most commonly in the world is not necessarily the most positive kind. What are the traits that you feel a leader in the new millennium should have?

SECRETARY POWELL: One: an understanding of the new world, an understanding that political barriers that used to separate us and cultural barriers that used to separate us are all rapidly changing and going away. The power of television, the power of the internet, making the world increasingly connected. Any leader in any country has to think globally and you cannot stop the forces of globalization. I’m sorry. You can try to hold back the water. You can’t. The power of the telecommunications revolution is too strong. Leaders who are going to be successful in this 21^st century have to think globally and not locally.

Secondly, leaders have to have a passion for what they’re doing. I don’t know where each and every one of you will go in your lives. Some of you are already there. Some are still trying to figure it out. I was lucky. I figured it out early. They put me in the Army and that was the end of that. That was my passion. But have a passion for what you are doing. Make sure that you find something that will give you the success that you want in life, either in terms of position you get to or the money you might make, but also make sure that whatever you do in life as a leader gives you the opportunity to give back to your society.

You are the ones who have been educated. You are the ones who have come up, just as I was the son of an immigrant. My parents came to the United States because they couldn’t find jobs in Jamaica. That’s why they did it. Eighty years ago they left and got on boats and went to the United States, but within a few years they had children and those children were educated by the public school system. I was helped by people who were willing to give me a chance. Make sure that you who have been privileged by your countries, who are getting an education, who are on a path to success, keep looking back, keep looking down, keep looking across, keep looking to see what you can do to help people. You’ve all talked about it. You’ve talked about how do we help poor people. What do we do about poverty. I should ask you the question. What are you going to do about poor people? What are you going to do about poverty? Just to say that its someone else’s problem? No, it’s yours. You are going to be the leaders of your country. You have an obligation. Make sure that you have a passion for that obligation and you don’t just become successful and then walk away. Make sure that you believe in democracy. It’s the only system that’s going to be effective in the 21^st century. But you have to be able to capture the skills of all of the people within your countries: all of the women, all of the indigenous people, all have to be used in order to make your country effective. Make sure that you bring to your leadership position a passion for democracy and for freedom and for honesty in government and honesty in private life, and honesty in business life, as well.

QUESTION: My name is Diego Vasante. I’m Ecuadorian. It’s a real honor to be here talking to you sir. I thank you for that. I’d like to take this opportunity to bring something to your attention. I think that probably the problems that our countries, our Latin American countries, have to deal with are determined more probably by what our governments haven’t done because they just haven’t been able to do those things, a lot more than by what they have done, because they are weak governments. How do you think we can reinforce those governments? How can we give them real power in order for them to have a real impact on the good things they do for their people?

SECRETARY POWELL: Keep insisting, as young leaders, on the total commitment to democracy and to the rule of law. Keep insisting to your political leaders and to the people that you are in touch with, all you now are opinion makers, all of you now can tell people less fortunate that you who are looking up to you, you can them advice and guidance. Tell them to have the highest expectations of their leaders. Tell them to participate fully in the democratic process with elections. Tell them that the only thing that will satisfy you is if you put your society solidly on the rule of law and open government, and free government and respecting the rights of all individuals. And so, democracy is a difficult system. Most of the nations in the Western Hemisphere are new at it. I mean it’s only in the last 20 years or so that so many of the nations of the Western Hemisphere broke free of generals and dictatorial regimes and are learning how democracy works. But, democracy is a tough system.

You have to be competitive in the market place. You have to make sure you are removing all barriers. I’ll go to countries elsewhere in the world and in this hemisphere and they say, “We want trade. Why don’t people come invest here?” Well, it’s too hard. The bureaucracy is too hard. The regulations are too hard. You’re not welcoming. You don’t encourage people to come here to invest in your country. You’ve got to work to open up all countries to investment and to people who will want to come and put money at risk in your country. Only when you have governments that do that will you start to climb up the economic ladder. But as a young person who might be interested in a political career at some point, make sure you remain committed to these basic principles of democracy and openness.

QUESTION: (In Spanish). Good morning. Welcome to Latin America. Please receive a greeting from a young Peruvian. First of all, it is a very gratifying to see young Latin American leaders gathered together here today. This I think shows that we want to improve our countries. We have traveled from very distant places to learn from other peoples’ experiences and to share our common problems. We are very happy to be able to share this with you this morning.

I would like to tell you in Spanish since this is my native tongue, that I hope that you remember us in the future because maybe in ten years, maybe in five years, the future will be in our hands, from a scholarly point of view, from a business point of view, from a political point of view or from a social point of view. We will play a more important role. We need to change the leadership that is exercised in our countries. We need to be leaders who act and speak in line with our convictions, our beliefs. We think that we can have a better relationship amongst us with the aim of building a better world, without wars, without corruption, and without people who are always looking to step on the little guy. I just wanted to say that and I hope that we will see you in the future one day to sign agreements or treaties in order to train youth leaders, or to improve the economy or international relationships, when we will work together as equals. Thank you.

SECRETARY POWELL: Ten years in the future from now, I will be [sound of yawning and stretching] and I will be watching you on television when you are being sworn into something. (Laughter). All of you are in positions of responsibility. I’ll be watching on CNN Español. I met him. I met her in Quito in 2004.

Because the fact of the matter is the questions you are asking of me, I’m not the one who is going to have to answer them. You’re going to have to answer them. The solutions you’re looking for are the solution you’re going to have to come up with. Not the ones that I’m going to come up with, but the ones you’re going to have to design. They’re going to be unique to your country, to your culture, to your history, to your current state of economic and social development, political development. You’re going to have to figure it out. That’s what so exciting about it.

What is fascinating about this group is that your average age, as I understand it, is 25-30, somewhere in there. You grew up in this post-tyrannical, post-“communism is coming” era. Over the last 12 or 15 years, you have come of age in a brand new world. You know all about the internet. You know all about mass communications. You have grown up in an environment that is unique to the generation that came before you. Everybody is now looking to you to apply what you have gained from this education, but most importantly, what you have gained from your ability to watch a world revolutionize itself over the last 15 years.

I’m just an old guy. I’m just getting ready for my retirement. My children are all older than everybody in this room. You are fresh. You’re the ones who are going to have to find the solutions. I know you will do it because I can just see it in your faces. I can see the commitment, the dedication and the passion in your eyes. I know you’ll get it done.

QUESTION: (A greeting in Quichua). (In Spanish). Welcome everyone to Ecuador. Mr. Powell, I represent the indigenous people, well not as an indigenous representative, but I as an indigenous citizen. I am firmly convinced that democracy is the best system that we have to provide us with the best way of life. However, as a bit of background, I would like to say that in our communities most children only reach the third grade education. With these high rates of illiteracy and poverty, we are at an abysmal disadvantage when it comes to competitiveness. We see our governments increasing in their levels of corruption. The crisis is getting worse and we are worse off then we were in the 70s as was said earlier. What message can you give to us as indigenous people now that we have mobilized to oppose this undemocratic way of life? There are a lot of thing that I don’t support about this movement, but I can understand the pain. There is a lot of poverty, and feeling of hopelessness toward the future among my community. What can you tell us when the foreign debt is eating us up slowly? When we want to be a part of an open society, but we don’t have the possibility to compete since foreign debt has been nothing but a burden to indigenous communities? What can a country with great power like yours do for the indigenous community?

SECRETARY POWELL: We’re trying to do everything we can to help with the alleviation of debt. Remember, debt is money that your country has received some time ago and did not invest properly, did not use well. Nevertheless, it is a burden on the countries of the hemisphere and around the world. We’re doing everything we can with our Highly Indebted Poor Country debt relief and other ways of relieving debt. The indigenous people of the region, now that democracy has come you must mobilize. You must organize yourselves. You must register to vote. You must make your voices heard. You must not be invisible in the corner. To some extent, I was an indigenous person in my own country. My people, black people, were indigenous. American Indians were indigenous and they are slowly gaining their voice. Slowly through the use of that more powerful voice, through voting, through speaking out, through writing, through all kinds of political action, are gaining more economic power within our society. That’s what you have to do, speak out, vote, organize and make your voices heard. Politicians listen to people when they’re organized and can make their voice heard.

I’m afraid I do have to leave. I have to give some television interviews and then see the President. I’m sorry.