In paragraphs 34-87 the bishops have analyzed the situation of Latin America and the Caribbean largely in terms of the problems and prospects of globalization.
Virgilio Elizondo in America in January 2008, wrote:
“Globalization became a prism for the deliberations at Aparecida. The conference recognized the advantages of globalization-the benefit of new technologies, the paths they open toward greater human unity and prosperity, etc. – but it also noted that the process “promotes inequalities and multiple injustices.” How can the church help create new forms of globalization based on solidarity, justice, and respect for human rights and the environment? Aparecida begins by looking at the disfigured lives of the victims of globalization, particularly those excluded from its benefits.”
The document has a strong critique of globalization but some Latin America commentators have complained that the document doesn’t contain a serious analysis of the causes, despite the efforts of some bishops and the recommendations of several commissions. “The conditions were not present to go to the roots of the exclusion and connect it to the present liberal-capitalist system.”
As the late Belgian theologian José Comblin, who worked in Brazil for decades, wrote in “El Papel Histórico de Aparecida”:
What does not clearly appear is that globalization also includes the colonization of the weak nations by the countries that are more powerful…. The expansion of globalization is the conquest of the world by the dominant powers. By means of transnationals [international corporations and organizations] and diverse financial means and also by the direct intervention of powerful states, politically, diplomatically or militarily, the rich world subordinates the rest of the world. The transnationals [international corporations and organizations] conquer the markets and imposing panning on the weaker States, and enrich themselves by the exploitation of the weak countries.
It follows that a simple enumeration of the deeds without denouncing the cause leaves one open to having little practical effects [repercussions in practice].
Here is an English translation of the 2007 document from the Aparecida Conference.
Catholic Sensibility 