Sánchez trusts in a speedy approval of the EU-Mercosur agreement

The president of Ceapi, Núria Vilanova;

Rebecca Grynspan;

Mauricio Claver-Carone;

Enrique V. Iglesias, and the Secretary General of the OECD, Angel Gurría, this Monday in Madrid.Mariscal / EFE

In full economic recovery after the blow of the covid-19, which has unleashed the biggest recession since there are records in Latin America, the region now faces a very intense electoral calendar. After the constituent elections this Sunday in Chile, in the next two years several countries in the region - Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Honduras, Nicaragua ... - will experience a succession of appointments with the polls, between presidential and legislative elections or mid-term. In this context of "electoral super-cycle", in the words of the Ibero-American Secretary General, Rebeca Grynspan, several leaders of the region have urged this Monday at the IV Ceapi Ibero-American Congress, held in Madrid, to achieve "major political agreements" to get out of the economic abyss.President Pedro Sánchez has been convinced that the trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur will be approved "sooner rather than later" and has urged Europe to "look to Latin America as a priority."

The President of the Spanish Government has taken advantage of his presence at the opening of the forum to announce that he will start a tour of Latin America from June 8 that will take him to Argentina and Costa Rica.

“Latin America is very important to us.

We are aware of the role we play, as the first European investor and second in the world after the United States ”, he stressed.

Sánchez has acknowledged that the coronavirus crisis is ending with a “retreat” of Spanish investments in the area, but before an audience full of businessmen Sánchez has encouraged them to keep looking at the block: “I tell you to continue investing in the region : it's a safe bet.

Even more after the covid, Latin America is decisive for Spain ”.

In a more general way, Sánchez has defended a "fair recovery, which promotes a new social contract and a more inclusive economic model."

In the middle of the debate on the rise in taxes around the world, as a result of the increase recently announced in the US by the Biden Administration, the President of the Government has remarked that "without tax justice there is no social justice" and that taxes "fair and progressive ”are“ essential to maintain public services ”.

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"In the great wars, and this is a kind of war, the political parties - and the whole world - agree to confront it," remarked the former executive secretary of ECLAC, former president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). ) and Grynspan's predecessor at the head of the Ibero-American General Secretariat, Enrique V. Iglesias. “The political sectors have to react and understand that time cannot be wasted in discussions that are useless and that alliances must be sought. Otherwise, we will be dragged by the policies set by others and we will not be able to avoid enormous social costs ”.

Iglesias has referred to the need to achieve "great pacts" as the "greatest challenge today" in Latin America: to achieve "mature political systems that represent society and are capable of agreeing on measures that are of interest to all."

"How can we not believe in Latin America, which is the world's largest reservoir of food and energy and mineral resources?" He rhetorically asked.

"But, so that in addition to believing we can create, politicians have to put the great interests of a united Latin America that goes out to meet the future above the rivalries of every day."

Curb polarization and populisms

"The question is whether we are going to take advantage of this electoral super cycle to achieve broad consensus: I hope that it will not serve to further polarize the population and to allow more populism in the region, but so that there can be new pacts and consensuses," Grynspan completed. "We need leadership to rise to the occasion, also in civil society and companies, to see not only the short term but also the long term."

The Ibero-American Secretary General has also asked to strengthen and expand "public-private partnerships" in the subcontinent to take advantage of "great opportunities", including the largest cohort of young people in the history of Latin America.

Post-pandemic economic growth in the United States and China —especially due to the pull it is causing on the price of raw materials—, he said, is going to be “very important” for the region.

"But it depends on ourselves to take advantage of it," he added.

IDB recapitalization pending

Latin America is at a real breaking point. The first short-term challenge is vaccination, which is progressing significantly slower than in rich countries. The second, to obtain the necessary financing to suture wounds and relaunch growth. "Latin America," says Grynspan, "will not come out of this crisis alone: ​​we need more liquidity and strengthen development banks." The recent announcement that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will issue new special drawing rights to help low- and middle-income countries is "very important," but in a region where - as the president of the Inter-American Bank of America recalls, Development (IDB), Mauricio Claver-Carone, 20 million people have lost their jobs in the formal sector,30 million have joined the ranks of poverty and 50 million have left or are about to leave the middle class, more is needed.

The IDB, by far the largest development bank in the bloc, is one of the great pending short-term issues. “It's a priority”, Claver-Carone has recognized in his debut in an international mission since he took office. “This is the first time that the US Congress has approved a line of 80,000 million, and in September and October we will present this plan to the governors. But until then, and as I know that there is skepticism from the Spanish business community when it comes to investing in the region, we offer them to go [hand in hand] with us ”. In each crisis, the IDB chief has emphasized, “there are opportunities and we have to focus on them: the region's human capital is the best in the world; we are the most talented region, and the important thing now is to overcome the structural challenges and give them opportunities so that they can be successful ”.