ECLAC organizes summit of “experts” to redefine family in Latin America

Santiago, Chile, Nov 2, 2004 / 22:00 pm

The Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) organized a gathering of “experts” on family and public policy in Chile last week which pro-life groups say was dominated by feminist groups attempting to redefine the concept of the family in Latin America.

The summit took place October 28 and 29 in Santiago and was attended by 55 representatives from nine countries and was intended to provide analysis on “families” in Latin America, put together a network of specialists in family issues and propose corresponding public policy.

However, speakers and participants in practice sought to strengthen the concept of “families” as opposed to “the family,” disparaging the traditional family and “democratizing” the family without concern for gender.

According to the delegation from Mexico, Maru Cardenas and Guillermo Macias, there was “a significant absence of qualitative concepts and variables.  They did not define what they meant by family, home, democracy or well being, among other things.  After long hours of debate, one speaker mentioned that the family should be united by love.  A woman stopped her cold: ‘Love is not measurable, the economists and experts do not understand that terminology.  Please return to using hard data’.”

Likewise, the delegation denounced that “the only source of information was from the documents of the ECLAC and the studies by the very feminists who, patting themselves on the back, quoted and congratulated each other during their respective presentations.”

Speakers heavily criticized the traditional family.  “They considered this reality to be traditional, ideal, and worse, conservative, they said with spite.  Instead they spoke of a variety of different households which they proposed be called families,” the Mexicans said.

During the summit, Catholics were accused of have a conservative position that is “an obstacle” and of “aligning internationally and fostering an authoritarian, patriarchal concept of the family.”  Speakers even said that “the traditional family is not only idealized, many times, rather than helping, it is very hurtful for its members.”