The Mercosur and the Social Agenda

Once the work for the Social Summit in Copenhagen and the International Conference on Women in Beijing was over, the question that remained in the heads of those who had spent their time and energy in bringing them was about: how to get the agreements transferred into the real world of governmental policies? A large part of considering the implications and consequences of the Social Summit and the IV Conference is related to their possible positive effects on regional integration initiatives in the world today. The Copenhagen and Beijing commitments could be useful tools in setting the bases in the formulation of regional policies. Latin America in particular has several different scenes of regional integration, where the implementation of a regional social policy could reinforce the achievement of equity and a greater participation in social development. The most important question is: how have the various actors, governments and civil societies assumed the Copenhagen and Beijing commitments in the light of the current situations and regional integration processes?