Montevideo had the great honour of receiving the representatives of the regions of the world in their challenge of attaining the “freedom to share” among those constraint by different borders.
States are integrated. The time has come to integrate the people.
The time has come for a more human world, for a civilisation in harmony with nature. The time has come to put people ahead of interests. The time has come to bring down the evil and to eradicate destruction. The time has come for a friendlier organisation. It is time to give more power to the governments with a human dimension. It is the time of governors without intermediaries because it is the time of citizens. It is the time to have governments that cannot escape the watchful eye of the citizens.
ORU-Fogar tackled head-on what until now was exclusively reserved for National Governments. It presented the damages of disintegration and the rich experiences of integration. It allowed us to share the multiple experiences of those borders that do not want to be one as well as their valuable generation of programs for the sole purpose of getting together. I showed us the permanent changes in the countries’ limits and the perennial unity of the citizens grouped in regions, in their natural way of cohabitation and therefore of decision.
Rio de Janeiro is waiting for us in April. Between Montevideo and Rio a few political changes will occur. Some of them have already occurred by now. There will be a drift towards the pre-eminence of the regional and local levels and towards the end of statistics to go to a people-based approach. Our duty is to continue to invite and convince, encouraging each other to assume this huge responsibility: decentralising, strengthening the regional sphere and a close level of governance, and giving people the freedom to govern their own destiny…and to group together.
Sergio Botana
Chairman of the Congreso de Intendentes de Uruguay and Intendant of Cerro Largo
