EDITORIAL PAGE — Learning from the past

The abuses of Spain’s conquest and exploitation of South and Central America serve as a cautionary lesson for present-day developers, according to Oscar Arias Sanchez, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former president of Costa Rica. Sanchez provided an intellectually challenging glimpse into this aspect of Latin America’s heritage during a luncheon address at the annual “Investing in the Americas” conference staged recently in Miami.

He explained that the glory and power of those pioneering Europeans were financed by the exploitation of thousands of natives who died or became enslaved during the conquest. It was a devastating invasion, carried out under the banner of the Cross but motivated by the search for gold. “The first edifices were the churches,” Sanchez said, “and the first exploitations were the mines.”

Not one to be misunderstood, he said his intention in invoking the abuses of the past was not to extract reparations but, rather, to show that today’s economic development in Latin America should be based not on exploitation but on human dignity, liberty and justice.

Trade and commerce can be vehicles for tolerance, Sanchez said, because they have always motivated men to ignore geographic, social and religious barriers. And yet commercial activities invariably have a dark side, as does science. “There is no neutral science, no aseptic science, and we will get to the same conclusion about investment,” he said. “There is no neutral investment . . . all have consequences and ethical limits.”

He urged companies investing in Latin America to respect the cultural and ecological diversity of their host countries and to strive to be environmentally and socially progressive. “It is immoral to have business prosperity based on exploitation,” he said.

An equally strong message was delivered to those with business and political interests in these countries. Specifically, Sanchez charged that most countries had failed to eradicate poverty (which he tagged “the central element of instability”), while some had also failed to subordinate military interests to a civil power.

Part of the blame for these failures is rooted in the Latin American culture. “We have had a long chain of scandals of corruption recently . . . It is our own perplexity, and the result of conflicts of interest involving politicians in business and businessmen in politics,” he said.

The former statesman warned that corruption can seriously destabilize the business climate and urged that steps be taken to improve this climate so as to attract more foreign investment. He closed by urging delegates to devote time to emphasizing business ethics.

In 1987, Sanchez won a Nobel prize for helping establish a peace treaty with Costa Rica’s war-torn neighbors. His thoughts on the economic development of Latin America were warmly received at the recent conference, even by those who felt he was not fully aware of the environmental and social commitment already being demonstrated by mining companies active in those countries. As one Mexican-born mining professional remarked, investment is not the only thing flowing to Latin America. An economic, social and political renaissance is taking root, a renaissance based on the North American ideals of free enterprise, social justice, and political and environmental integrity.