The member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) have elected former Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro as the next secretary-general and Ambassador of Belize Nestor Mendez as assistant secretary-general of the hemispheric body, and it is clear from both men that institutional change is on their agenda.

Almagro ran unopposed, and will replace Jose Miguel Insulza, who's term ends on May 25. Mendez won over Ambassador Bayney Karran of Guyana, who had also tossed his hat into the ring, and will succeed Albert Ramdin on July 12. One of Almagro's major planks is interconnectivity in the Caribbean.

"This will be an initiative to overcome digital connectivity divides, and develop more even commercial use of rivers and air traffic, so as to attract investment to the region and boost progress and jobs for young people," he said during a concise, almost blunt acceptance speech.

The secretary-general-elect said there is a need to inject "a little realism" into the OAS and to focus on what he felt the organization can do better than any other: political dialogue with tangible results in key areas for Democracy, Human Rights, Security, and the Integral Development of the Americas.

"I am not interested in administering the crisis in the OAS. I am bent on facilitating the emergence of a revitalized OAS," Almagro said.

He highlighted the important areas in his 'work program' - which he noted would require the OAS to realign the budget and embark on a restructuring and modernization. The program includes citizen security, which he noted was one of the two or three top concerns in all the countries of the Hemisphere.

"We will work together with multilateral organizations on a hemispheric initiative, adopting a comprehensive approach to the problem," he said.

Almagro also committed to a School of Governance, which would help train civil servants and civil society by endowing them with tools for good governance, transparency, accountability, and for forging consensus. On preventing social conflicts, he said his administration would facilitate dialogue between regional and international investors and the states and communities in key productive sectors that generate wealth and conflicts about how that wealth is distributed.

In addition to the interconnectivity initiative, he also said he would develop a coordinated network of best practices with the United Nations and multilateral organizations on natural disaster prevention and management in the Caribbean and Central America. And he said the Pan American Network on the Quality of Education would enable the region to move on from achievements in enhancing access to education to achievements in enhancing the impact of education at higher levels.

"I have instructed those who will make up my transition team to begin the tasks of preparing the actions needed to implement that agenda, including the installation of an international committee of experts to come up with recommendations as to how to fine-tune the results-based budget and thereby inject a new culture into the Organization," Almagro said.

Mendez, during his acceptance speech, spoke to what he saw as a "clear mandate and an unwavering commitment" to "together to transform the OAS into the organization that we want and that the people of the Americas deserve." He called such a transformation "a debt to the peoples of the Americas."

"Today we begin a new stage in our organization; we look to the future with optimism that together we can change and improve this valuable organization," Mendez said.

He committed to working with Almagro "to transform this organization," and working with the OAS General Secretariat "toward the transformation of the institutional culture into one that is more responsive to the needs of the member states." Dr. Elliston Rahming, Permanent Representative of The Bahamas, was present for the elections. The Bahamas became a member of the Organization of Americas States on March 3, 1982.

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