Taking place in the Nestor Kirchner building, named after one of the protagonists behind the CELAC grouping, the president gave some reflections on important issues that the region faces. According to Correa the region needs to advance in the reduction of poverty, peace in Colombia and justice and dignity for all. In terms of taxation, he noted that whereas in regions such as Europe personal taxation is on average 35.7% of income, in the CELAC region the level drops to 22%. He noted that the region should be a society with markets, and not a society for the markets. It is difficult to find unity among presidents with such diverging opinions about the role of big capital and labour as Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Mauricio Macri of Argentina, who declined to even attend the summit.