Go Lean…Caribbean

Go Lean Commentary

There are ordinary times … and there are extraordinary times.

When ’push comes to shove’, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. (The world enduring the pangs of distress of this Coronavirus crisis is definitely an extraordinary time).

The ordinary times of the Caribbean was forged by the long history of European colonialism; (the indigenous population is now mostly all extinct). The populations of the Caribbean member-states only emerged as a product of the imperial expansion and colonization from the Old World of Europe. The reference to Old World is in contrast to the New World of the Americas (North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean islands in between). The Old World of Europe, went through a lot of reformations, revisions and revolutions (even world wars); then a new disposition of cooperation, collaboration and confederation commenced. A better Europe emerged.

This reality had allowed Europe to emerge as a role model for the Caribbean …

… the Old Country has a new lesson for the New World: economic, security and governing integration of the European Union (EU). This structure is such an advancement in democracy that it is now presented as a model for the Caribbean region to explore.

This is the quest of the book Go Lean…Caribbean, to get the Caribbean region to model their society to incorporate the best practices of the EU. The book urges the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The book therefore serves as a roadmap for this goal, with turn-by-turn directions to integrate the 30 member-states of the region, forge an $800 Billion economy and create 2.2 million new jobs.
…
The continent of Europe has now “grown up”, organizationally. In fact, because of the success of this integration, the EU was awarded the coveted Nobel Peace Prize for 2012. This fact was detailed in the Go Lean book (Page 130).
…
The biggest lesson for the Caribbean to glean from a consideration of the EU is the need for compromise in consensus-building. – Blog-commentary: Introduction to Europe – All Grown Up posted November 27, 2014.

The EU, on paper, is the epitome of 28 parties – European member-states – “playing well in the sandbox”, or nations behaving mannerly. They boasted Free Movement of people and universal protections of civil rights in every jurisdiction. But, now something has broken that European tranquility …

Now that the COVID-19 crisis is imperiling the world in general and Europe in particular, that once proud EU interdependence is now reverting to the dreaded state-only independent thinking and nationalism. Ouch! Be afraid; be very afraid!

Did the Coronavirus break Europe’s good manners … or was that appearance of societal maturity just a false façade covering over the true European character?

Remember this is the continent that forge the 1884 Berlin Conference and subsequently spawned World War I, World War II, the Nazi Holocaust, Balkan Ethnic Cleansing, and many more atrocities right up to the present day … almost – see the dissenting commentary below where it is asserted that European “beauty is really only skin deep, but their ugly goes to the bone”.

See the bad happenstance occurring in today’s Europe due to this COVID-19 threat as portrayed in this news article here:

Title: Coronavirus: The European Union Unravels
By: Soeren Kern

• Faced with an existential threat, EU member states, far from joining together to confront the pandemic as a unified bloc, instinctively are returning to pursuing the national interest. After years of criticizing U.S. President Donald J. Trump for pushing an “America First” policy, European leaders are reverting to the very nationalism they have publicly claimed to despise.
• Ever since the threat posed by coronavirus came into focus, Europeans have displayed precious little of the high-minded multilateral solidarity that for decades has been sold to the rest of the world as a bedrock of European unity. The EU’s unique brand of soft power, said to be a model for a post-national world order, has been shown to be an empty fiction.
• In recent weeks, EU member states have closed their borders, banned exports of critical supplies and withheld humanitarian aid. The European Central Bank, the guarantor of the European single currency, has treated with unparalleled disdain the eurozone’s third-largest economy, Italy, in its singular hour of need. The member states worst affected by the pandemic — Italy and Spain — have been left by the other member states to fend for themselves.
• The European Union, seven decades in the making, is now unravelling in real time — in weeks.

NICKELSDORF, AUSTRIA – MARCH 18: Trucks are parked on the motorway leading to the Austrian-Hungarian border crossing near Nickelsdorf on March 18, 2020 in Nickelsdorf, Austria. After negotiations between Austrian and Hungarian authorities, Hungary opened the border for Rumanian, Serbian and Bulgarian citizens. Prior to the measures the queues on Austrian side were up to 60kms long. (Photo by Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images)

As the coronavirus pandemic rages through Europe — where more than 250,000 people have now been diagnosed with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 15,000 have died — the foundational pillars of the European Union are crumbling one by one.

Faced with an existential threat, EU member states, far from joining together to confront the pandemic as a unified bloc, instinctively are returning to pursuing the national interest. After years of criticizing U.S. President Donald J. Trump for pushing an “America First” policy, European leaders are reverting to the very nationalism they have publicly claimed to despise.

Ever since the threat posed by coronavirus came into focus, Europeans have displayed precious little of the high-minded multilateral solidarity that for decades has been sold to the rest of the world as a bedrock of European unity. The EU’s unique brand of soft power, said to be a model for a post-national world order, has been shown to be an empty fiction.

In recent weeks, EU member states have closed their borders, banned exports of critical supplies and withheld humanitarian aid. The European Central Bank, the guarantor of the European single currency, has treated with unparalleled disdain the eurozone’s third-largest economy, Italy, in its singular hour of need. The member states worst affected by the pandemic — Italy and Spain — have been left by the other member states to fend for themselves.

The seeds of the European Union were planted in the ashes of the Second World War. In May 1949, Robert Schuman, one of the EU’s founding fathers, boldly announced the creation of new world system:

“We are carrying out a great experiment, the fulfillment of the same recurrent dream that for ten centuries has revisited the peoples of Europe: creating between them an organization putting an end to war and guaranteeing an eternal peace.”

The European Union, seven decades in the making, is now unravelling in real time — in weeks. After the dust of the coronavirus pandemic settles, the EU’s institutions will almost certainly continue to operate as before. Too much political and economic capital has been invested in the European project for European elites to do otherwise. However, the EU’s attraction as a post-national model for its own citizens, much less for the rest of the world, will have passed.

Recent examples of the unilateral pursuit of the national interest by European leaders, many of whom publicly espouse globalism but in times of desperation embrace nationalism, include:

• France. On March 3, France confiscated all protective masks made in the country. “We will distribute them to healthcare professionals and to French people affected by the coronavirus,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter. On March 6, the French government forced Valmy SAS, a face mask manufacturer near Lyon, to cancel an order for millions of masks placed by the UK’s National Health Service.
• Germany, March 4. Germany banned the export of medical protective equipment such as safety glasses, respiratory masks, protective coats, protective suits and gloves. On March 7, the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung reported that German customs authorities were preventing a Swiss truck carrying 240,000 protective masks from returning to Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU. The Swiss government summoned the German ambassador to protest against the export ban. “In these contacts, the German authorities were urged immediately to release the blocked products,” a Swiss government spokesperson was quoted as saying. After facing a backlash from other EU member states, Germany on March 19 reversed course and lifted the export ban.
• Austria, March 10. Austria became the first EU country to close its borders to another EU country. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced controls along the border with Italy and a ban on the entry of most travelers from there. “The utmost priority,” Kurz said, “is to prevent the spread and thus importing the illness into our society. There is therefore a ban on entry for people from Italy into Austria, with the exception of people who have a doctor’s note certifying that they are healthy.” The government also announced a ban on all air or rail travel to Italy. Austria’s decision threatened to undo the so-called Schengen Area, which entered into effect in 1995 and abolishes the need for passports and other types of control at the mutual borders of 26 European countries.
• Slovenia, March 11. The government closed some border crossings with Italy and at those remaining open, had started making health checks to combat the spread of the virus.
• Czech Republic, March 12. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš closed the country’s borders with Germany and Austria and also banned the entry of foreigners coming from other risky countries. On March 22, the government said that the border restrictions may last for up to two years.
• Switzerland, March 13. The Swiss government imposed border controls with other European countries. Switzerland, although not a member of the European Union, is part of the Schengen zone.
• Italy, March 13. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde dismissed calls by Italy for financial assistance to help it cope with the pandemic. After her comments rattled financial markets, Lagarde said that the ECB was “fully committed to avoid any fragmentation in a difficult moment for the euro area.” Italian President Sergio Mattarella replied that Italy had a right to expect solidarity rather than obstacles from beyond its borders.
• Denmark, March 14. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen imposed border controls on all traffic by land, sea and air until at least April 13.
• Poland, March 15. The government closed the country’s borders to everyone except Polish citizens or people with a Polish residence permit.
• Germany, March 16. Germany, the largest and most powerful country in the European Union, introduced controls on its borders with Austria, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The move came after Germany registered 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 in just one day.
• Hungary, March 16. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán halted all passenger traffic into Hungary would be halted and only Hungarian citizens allowed to enter the country.
• Spain, March 16. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska decreed the establishment of controls at all land borders.
• Serbia, March 16. President Aleksandar Vučić declared a state of emergency due to coronavirus. He condemned the EU for restricting exports of medical equipment and appealed for help from his “friend and brother,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping. “European solidarity does not exist,” Vučić said. “That was a fairy tale on paper. I have sent a special letter to the only ones who can help, and that is China.” Serbia applied to become a member of the EU in 2009. Accession talks began in January 2014.
• Czech Republic, March 17. Czech authorities seized 110,000 face masks that China had sent to Italy. On March 23, the Czech Republic delivered the confiscated material to Italy. “There are 110,000 masks on board the bus as a gift to Italy, which is supposed to replace the material that was probably a Chinese gift for Italian compatriots,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Stichova.
• Germany, March 18. Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a rare televised speech, urged all Germans to obey rules aimed at reducing direct social contact and avoiding as many new infections as possible. “It is serious,” she said. “Take it seriously. Since German reunification, actually, since World War Two, there has never been a challenge for our country in which acting in solidarity was so very crucial.” Merkel’s address to the nation was the first time in nearly 15 years in office that she had spoken to the country other than in her annual New Year’s address. She did not mention the European Union or other EU member states.
• Belgium, March 22. The coronavirus has fueled tensions between Belgium, which is on lockdown, and the Netherlands, which is not. “In the Netherlands, shops are still open and meetings of 100 people are still allowed — these are breeding grounds for the virus,” said Marino Keulen, mayor of the Belgian border town Lanaken. Belgian authorities have set up barricades along the border and are ordering cars with Dutch license plates to turn around and return home. Keulen called the border checks a “signal to The Hague” to “quickly scale-up” its response and align with neighboring countries. “The Dutch government is incompetent and ridiculous in its response to the coronavirus crisis,” said Leopold Lippens, the mayor of Belgian seacoast town Knokke-Heist. “The Netherlands is doing nothing, so we have to protect ourselves.”
• Spain, March 25. After failing to obtain assistance from the European Union, the Spanish government asked NATO for help in acquiring 1.5 million face masks and 450,000 respirators. NATO lacks this material and is limited to passing the Spanish request on to the remaining 29 allies, many of which are also members of the EU.
• Poland, March 25. Polish authorities prevented hundreds of thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer from being exported to Norway, which is not a member of the EU. The Norwegian company Norenco manufactures and packages hand sanitizer for the Scandinavian market at a factory it owns in Poland. Norenco’s chief executive, Arne Haukland, said that after he applied for an export license, five men arrived at the factory, and demanded to be shown its stock of hand sanitizer. He said the company then received a letter ordering it to sell any hand sanitizer it had produced to the local city authorities in Lubin at a fixed price, under emergency coronavirus laws passed in Poland at the start of March. The seizure will exacerbate the supply problem faced by Norwegian hospitals.
• France, March 25. President Emmanuel Macron, in an address to the nation at a military hospital in the eastern city of Mulhouse, which has been especially hard hit by the coronavirus, called for national, as opposed to European, unity: “When we engage in war, we engage fully, we mobilize united. I see in our country factors of division, doubts, all those who want to fracture the country when it is necessary to have only one obsession: to be united to fight against the virus. I call for this unity and this commitment.”

Meanwhile, in Italy, a nationwide survey published on March 18 found that 88% of Italians believe that the EU is not helping their country. Only 4% thought the opposite while 8% did not have an opinion. More than two-thirds (67%) of Italians said that they believe that being part of the European Union is a disadvantage for their country.

In an article titled, “Coronavirus Threatens European Unity,” Bill Wirtz, a political commentator based in Luxembourg, observed:

“As the coronavirus unfolds, Schengen countries are shutting their own borders. Whether or not they do so because they believe that a coordinated European response would be inefficient, or whether they believe that their own voters wouldn’t buy it — at this stage it’s irrelevant. The mere fact that borders have resurfaced in Europe is a failure for the integrity of the Schengen open borders agreement….

“A coordinated EU response to this crisis does not exist, and as the recommendations fall on deaf ears, Brussels is dealing with a crisis of confidence. There is no union-wide crisis response, coordinated testing or research. Worse than that, the EU institutions are bystanders to a war between countries, which are trying to limit exports of medical supplies in order to keep them for themselves. In times of crisis, the true influence and capacity of the EU has shown, and it is very little.

“As it stands, countries are dealing with a crisis of missing hospital beds, medical equipment, and overall resources. If the virus ever happens to lay lower than it does now, and the conclusion is drawn that the European Union was a powerless bystander in the eye of the storm (which it is), then the Schengen Agreement and open borders in Europe could be dealing with a difficult recovery.”

Darren McCaffrey, the political editor of the France-based news channel Euronews, wrote:

“In the past couple of weeks, solidarity has collapsed in the bloc. Countries have started imposing border controls on neighboring EU countries, and even Germany has taken steps to manage the flow of people entering and leaving its territory.

“On Tuesday, a 35-kilometer-long queue formed at the Polish-German border, where hundreds of Europeans — Latvians, Estonians and Lithuanians — were stuck in trucks, cars and buses.

“As the EU must take measures to prevent the spread of the disease, many are worrying about the essence of the European Union and its four freedoms [the free movement of goods, services, capital and people].

“What is the EU if its own citizens can’t move freely? What is the single market if goods can’t cross Europe’s borders without hindrance?”

In an article titled, “Nations First: The EU Struggles for Relevance in the Fight against Coronavirus,” the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel noted:

“As the pandemic takes hold in Europe, the decades-old union is showing its weaknesses. While the EU managed to survive Brexit and the euro crisis, the corona crisis may yet prove to be an insurmountable challenge.

“Instead of trying to come up with joint solutions, the Continent is becoming balkanized and is reverting to national solutions. Instead of helping each other out, EU countries are hoarding face masks like panicked Europeans are hoarding toilet paper. The early decisions made by some EU member states to refrain from exporting medical equipment to Italy — the EU country that has thus far been hit hardest by the pandemic — has even overshadowed the lack of European solidarity displayed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the refugee crisis.

“Europeans are even divided on the question as to how to combat the virus. Whereas Germany is eager to prevent as many people as possible from encountering the virus and becoming infected, the Netherlands wants to see as many healthy people as possible fight off COVID-19, thus becoming immune. The signal is clear: When things get serious, every member state still looks out for itself first — even 60 years after the founding of the community.”
Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
Source: Posted March 27, 2020; retrieved March 31, 2020 from: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15803/coronavirus-european-union-unravels

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No homeland is perfect.

The European continent has made great progress; but is still plagued with many societal defects. Yet still, the Caribbean member-states, though modeled and structured from their European legacy, have even more defects. These tropical territories lose many of its young people to abandonment and defection to the homelands of their European masters. In truth, in the Dutch Antillean islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Martin) and in the French Antillean islands (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin) all share the same experience of raising children, just to watch them leave after high school graduation; (same for the UK and American territories). See how this was reported in a previous Go Lean commentary:

All of the Caribbean, despite the languages, have had societal failures. Large swaths of the population has fled to foreign shores for refuge. In the French (and Dutch) Caribbean, it is not uncommon for high school graduates to leave soon after graduation. No society can thrive with this disposition. Communities need its people, young and old. But the people need opportunities for prosperity. – Blog-commentary: Welcoming the French posted February 20, 2017.

What is the experience for those emigrants, mostly Black-and-Brown, when they arrive to live, work and play in their new European lands of refuge? This question was answered in another previous Go Lean commentary:

Latent Racism – For societies to promote the exploitation of slaves, there must have been an underlying creed of racism, or racial supremacy. This emerges from time to time, as reflected recently with the Middle East Refugee crisis.  People with this mindset may not have a problem with coming to a Black majority Caribbean destination for leisure travel; it may be fun for them to be pampered by “servants”, but not so much for those facilitating the service. – Blog-commentary: 10 Things We Want from Europe and 10 Things We Do Not Want posted from October 19, 2019.

So is it advisable for Caribbean people to live, work and play in Europe? Nah! While no homeland is perfect – there is the need for societies everywhere to reform and transform – but it is easier for the Black-and-Brown of the Caribbean to succeed right here in the Caribbean, rather than in some foreign location; (with appropriate mitigations that is).

See how this assertion is made by this one political commentator – Mike Larry, a Social Justice Advocate and Pro-African Pundit – in the Caribbean member-state of the Bahamas:

 I look at MSM (Mainstream Media) as a propaganda tool where those that control it announce their next move or provide enough disinformation to set those not in their clique running in the wrong direction. On the first reading Europe has long practiced socialism and nationalism especially with respect to any natural resource they find at home and abroad; Norway and its sovereign wealth fund being a perfect example.

The U.S. is another example where she practices socialism and nationalism in the most egregious ways as she stomps about the earth imposing her brutish brand of imperialism on other sovereign states so that her citizens can maintain a certain standard of living at the expense of others. Isn’t that what the Berlin Conference of 1884 was really about with consensus among those of Eurocentric descent to collaborate rather than fight over non-Eurocentric nations and resources.

(In case you missed it, this has always been about resources to the detriment of resource-rich Afrocentric lands in particular).

On a deeper reading of the article, I see this as disinformation that Europe has put out into the mainstream to neutralize any effort or bright ideas that Africa and the African Diaspora might have regarding a United Africa and by extension CSME or any other non-Eurocentric trading bloc. Yet while this might cause non-Eurocentric states to abandon unity, this doesn’t mean that Europe has abandoned her common objective, as laid out in the Berlin Conference, such policies that remain alive and well. Even though Africans in the continent and the Diaspora are only now waking up to history of this barbaric treaty to which Africans were not seated at the table in Berlin. Again this has always been about resources and who gets to share in them in pursuance of their Eurocentric social and national agendas.

In summary, the push to open borders to neoliberal agendas was designed to destabilize sovereign states economically, gain control of their resources and economic arteries, in pursuit of a global system of socialism and nationalism with multiple layers of underclasses and white supremacy representing the capstone of the pyramid. I also believe the US and Europe will use the “engineered coronavirus” scare to gain better control over immigration issues, which too is based in racism and discrimination; this is what we do here in the Bahamas, not understanding that even in a so-called Black-led nation, such as ours, our immigration laws and policies criminalize primarily people of African descent.

When the smoke clears, we will appreciate that Europe, and its allies, have abided by the obligations of that horrible Berlin Treaty from over a century ago. [The goals and practices remain]. It doesn’t need a European Union for there to be business-as-usual in the exploitation of African people. That colonial spirit is embedded in their DNA [still], as evidenced by their avoidance of any Reparation Discourse, aside from empty apologies.

I don’t buy their story, as presented, as they will always be united against us in furthering their nationalistic and socialistic agendas which they have taught us to condemn in Africa and the Diaspora.
Posted: March 31, 2020.

The European Union had emerged as a role model for the Caribbean, but as portrayed in the foregoing news reports, they reverted to independent-minded “me first” nationalism, instead of the best-practice of interdependence, now that ‘push has come to shove’. We want to do better than this in the Caribbean; we do not want to structure our regional society just for the sunshine; no we want to prepare for the rain as well. We want the same rights, responsibilities and deliveries during “push” as during “shove”.

“Can’t we all just get along”?!

This is not just our question-opinion alone.

“When we grow up, we want to be like the European Union” – the Go Lean book proclaimed back in 2013; see this excerpt:

The EU region has quite an ignoble history of contending with differences, spurning 2 World Wars in the last century. Yet they came together to unite and integrate to make Europe a better place to live, work and play. Just like the EU, the CU will not possess sovereignty; this feature remains with each member-state. – 10 Ways to Model the EU (Page 130).

Yes, we want our Caribbean Community (CariCom) to become the Caribbean Union (CU). Except that the EU has NOT provided us with a good role model as of late. Rather than collaborating and confederating for solutions for this COVID-19 threat, they have reverted to their bad roots of nationalism and self-interest.

Europe is not all good.
Europe is not all bad.

Their duplicity gives lessons for us here in the Caribbean to look, listen and learn. But we must not stop there; we must also lend-a-hand and lead. Any society can come back from the brink; then reform and transform; then actuate a great community to live, work, heal and play. We have seen this done, even in Europe – therefore, we are convinced it can happen here. This theme has been highlighted in many previous Go Lean blog/commentaries; see this sample list here:

The movement behind the Go Lean book has consistently monitored and messaged about this fight against the Coronavirus threat; we have even presented a musical accompaniment with the 1970 song “Lean On Me” by Singer-Songwriter Bill Withers. There is a lyrical line in the song that is spot-on for today:

If there is a load you have to bear
That you can’t carry
I’m right up the road
I’ll share your load
If you just call me

For the 30 member-states of the political Caribbean, take these words to heart: “I’m right up the road” This is literally true, as some Caribbean member-states share the same island (think: St. Martin, Haiti, Dominican Republic), and other member-states are only 7 to 60 miles apart; (think USVI and BVI).

As related previously, today’s reality is the manifestation of this song (lyrics); it is time for the Caribbean neighborhood to “lean on” each other, rather than look to foreign masters thousands of miles away – who are otherwise occupied and disinterested.

Due to this Coronavirus reality, the ordinary times are no more; they may never return; this is the new normal, or a new abnormal. By all of us working together – a first time manifestation – we can have a fighting chance to make our regional homeland a better place to live, work, heal and play in good times and bad.  🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

• Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
• Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
• Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxii. Whereas the heritage of our lands share the distinction of cultural tutelage from European and American imperialists that forged their tongues upon our consciousness, it is imperative to form a society that is neutral and tolerant of the mother tongue influences of our people to foster efficient and effective communications among our citizens.

 xxiii. Whereas many countries in our region are dependent Overseas Territory of imperial powers, the systems of governance can be instituted on a regional and local basis, rather than requiring oversight or accountability from distant masters far removed from their subjects of administration. The Federation must facilitate success in autonomous rule by sharing tools, systems and teamwork within the geographical region.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.