Population, territory and sustainable development

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In view of the above, the primary policy message in the report is that internal migration
(especially, free circulation within national spaces) for whatever reason is among the inalienable rights of
individuals. There is, therefore, no political or legal justification for policies or programmes aimed at
keeping the population in areas where there is chronic poverty. All the same, emigration is not without its
downsides for poor regions, and acting on it or on flow in the other direction (i.e., immigration) can
indeed become a public policy goal. In any event, such initiatives should not restrict the free movement of
persons and should operate essentially on the basis of incentives.
The report picks up on proposals drafted by the Latin American and Caribbean Institute for
Economic and Social Planning (ILPES) over the past few years, aimed at returning to regional development
policies while recognizing the importance of globalization and market forces. A set of central concepts goes
back to government initiatives in the region but takes a tack that differs from the sweeping plans of the
1960s and 1970s. Among the concepts are competitiveness, leadership and regional planning, aimed at
enhancing the ability of regions to enter and compete in national and international markets.
This calls for support in the form of central policies and programmes to the extent that
competitiveness requires investment, infrastructure, services and skilled human resources, among other
factors. But, as discussed above, there is also a need for endogenous capacity to guide and manage all of
the objective components of competitiveness. Earlier versions of regional development policies do not
mention the importance of drive and strategic vision coming out of the regions themselves. The timeliness
of these interventions is based on the shared assessment that the main drivers of territorial
competitiveness are “system complexity, speed of organizational decision-making, innovativeness,
flexibility, the urban connection, infrastructure (heavy and light), government autonomy, culture and so
on” (Silva, 2005, page 95).
Also emerging as pivotal concepts are equity and respect for rights, regardless of the geographic
location of individuals. This does not immediately make conditions equal throughout the territory,
because there are cumulative economic and social inequalities, competitiveness contexts vary among
regions, and geographic conditions have objective impacts on the provision of certain services. Even so,
these concepts set a new goal for regional policies concerning the observance of rights throughout the
territory. They also seek to ensure, at least, territorial equity in access to resources and public services.
Among the instruments proposed for implementing such policies are funds for redistributing
financial resources among regions, because they combine the flow of resources from the action of market
forces with the desire to reduce regional inequalities and guarantee equal respect for rights. Consensusbased
regional strategies and representative leadership on the regional level contribute substantially to
sustainable regional development. There is another strategy based on mechanisms for coordination and
joint action at the regional level that seek to identify long-term projects and guide the region in that
direction with the support of stakeholders. Also proposed as key tools for regional development are
models for multiple actors to partner in local production activities (Rodríguez and Busso, 2009). These
models, referred to as “clusters” in the technical literature, resemble networks of local actors, resources
(human, natural and infrastructure resources), economic activities (productive, trade, technical, financial
and welfare) and their relationships (interdependence and exchange). The linkages between these spheres
allow the commercial exchange of products and services —and of technology and regulations— and there
is a need to gradually build frameworks of trust.