Latin Nations Draw Up Plan to Trim Debt : 7 Countries Will Send Proposal to Big Lenders

Seven Latin American debtor nations said Wednesday that they were sending a joint proposal on debt reduction to the main industrialized nations.

Brazilian presidential spokesman Carlos Henrique Santos said the debt proposals--which come from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela--would be conveyed through diplomatic channels.

Henrique Santos did not divulge any details of the proposals, drawn up by finance and economy ministers of seven Latin American states in Rio de Janeiro last week and approved by their presidents.

He told a news conference that he had been mistaken when he said earlier in the day that the Latin American states would seek a debt summit with the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain, West Germany, France and Italy.

“The idea of the meeting was a mistake on my part, but it is not excluded,” he said.

The Rio meeting said a cut in the debt was urgent and called for a reduction of both principal and servicing costs. Latin America as a whole has a debt of about $420 billion.

Meeting Likely

Brazil is the coordinator of the Latin American group. Henrique Santos said the group hoped its proposals would be studied by the seven industrialized nations during their annual summit next year.

He described as “extremely positive” the chances of a meeting between the Latin American leaders and the next U.S. president.