IDEA Conference Document, Quito, Ecuador, September-October 1999 Social Network for Public Education in the Americas Carlos Mauricio López Tegucigalpa, Honduras The New Landscape and Context of Decentralized Development According to a study carried out by Dr. Jose Antonio Morales Erlich, a Salvadoran politician, the world today is characterized by three main trends in development: 1.1  – A marked tendency toward unipolar politics, represented by the United States and reinforced by the Cold War 1.2  – A tendency toward economic multipolarity in different parts of the world, promoting a rupture in national markets in order to give way to globalization of the economy 1.3  – A generalized tendency toward “modernization” of…