Mexico’s President Proposes $1 Trillion Global Fund for Poor
Mexico’s President Proposes $1 Trillion Global Fund for Poor
(Bloomberg) -- Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador proposed the creation of a global fund of $1 trillion to aid the world’s poor during a speech to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday.
AMLO, as he is known, called on wealthy nations and individuals to make direct cash transfers to the world’s poorest 750 million people and said a global census of poverty could start next year to determine which individuals would qualify.
The funding for his global initiative would come from a contribution of 4% of the earnings of the 1,000 richest people in the world and the 1,000 highest-grossing corporations, as well as a 0.2% contribution of gross domestic product of the G20 member states. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund would participate in the creation of the fund and in the selection of the recipient population.
“Never in the history of this organization has something truly substantial been done to benefit the poor,” he said. “But it is never too late for there to be justice. Now is the time to act against marginalization and to attend to the causes, and not only to the consequences.”
The speech, timed to mark Mexico’s inauguration as head of the UN Security Council, was made during Lopez Obrador’s second trip out of the country since his inauguration in late 2018.
AMLO has championed an end to inequality in his own country but has hewed closely to plans for austere spending during the pandemic. He has also critiqued other countries for failing to share more vaccines and has declined to participate in recent international meetings, including this year’s UN General Assembly and the recent UN Climate Change Conference.
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