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...the world. Unlike other regions, the Americas have already completed, with one exception, the first and most dramatic stage of such change: moving from authoritarian regimes to democratically-elected governments, and from centrally controlled, closed economies to open, trading economies that link to global markets. Today, the 34 democratic states of our hemisphere face the next generation of transformational challenges: how to build enduring democracies and market-based economies that can address a regional social agenda dominated by poverty, inequality, and social exclusion.
The Americas, through the Summit process, the institutions of the Inter-America system, and the Inter-American Democratic Charter, have committed themselves to addressing their fundamental social and economic development challenges through democratic means. In the clearest terms, the Americas have asked the following questions:
* Can democracy deliver the goods?
* Can democracy provide the benefits and services required by its poorest and most vulnerable citizens while protecting the rights and liberties of all its citizens?
By answering this question affirmatively, the Americas have expanded our understanding of citizenship and democratic participation beyond voting and political activity to include participation in the economic and social life of our nations. It is no longer enough for our citizens to have a voice in determining our national destinies. They also need to have access to the economic opportunity, the individual capacity-building, and the security to become agents of their own personal destiny. In short, democracy in the Americas becomes the means by which individual freedom and human dignity is asserted and made manifest.
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