This week, La República, one of Colombia’s most important economic and financial newspapers, published the latest article by the president of ATREVIA, Núria Vilanova, entitled “Ibero-America: Commitment and Reward”. The 19th of July, Ibero-America Day, commemorates the celebration of the first summit of Ibero-American Heads of State, which occurred three decades ago. Since 1991, 22 countries in the region have been coordinating challenges and opportunities with the support of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB). This will be the last Ibero-America Day under Rebeca Grynspan, who has so brilliantly led SEGIB. She will now take on an important position for the region, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
“We are going through a complex political, economic, social, and health crisis, a situation that requires profound reforms. Ibero-America urgently needs multilateral financing, international cooperation to accelerate vaccinations, and companies’ interest in creating new projects and support the reskilling and training required for the latest jobs to come.
Don’t be deceived; it is necessary to implement a tax reform in line with the one proposed by the Minister of Finance, José Manuel Restrepo, which will provide the State with stable resources to advance equal opportunities and social rights. There is no other option but to build an economic model that promotes environmental sustainability and social aspects such as diversity and inclusion.
Another common goal is to strengthen multilateral financing instruments that reinforce the investment capacity of middle-income countries through institutions such as the World Bank, the IDB, or the Development Bank of Latin America-CAF. The latter is led by the Colombian Sergio Díaz-Granados, whose election as Executive President was viewed positively. He has already announced his intention to turn the entity into the regional green bank.
The last vital objective is to advance public-private collaboration, the only way forward for Colombia and Ibero-America. The ‘Empresas por la vacunación’ (Companies for Vaccination) campaign is a good example, but we must do more. The government and entrepreneurs are needed to generate employment, wealth, and well-being. As businessman Stanley Motta said, “There are no successful companies in failed states, nor successful states with failed companies.”
However, avoiding failure requires a realistic approach. In this respect, Luis Guillermo Echeverri Vélez, President of the Asociación Primero Colombia, addressed Colombia’s weaknesses in a recent conference in Madrid, among which he included being the world’s largest cocaine producer, with more than 200,000 hectares that pose an environmental risk, or the populist threat. Nevertheless, he emphasized Colombia’s strengths: its great capacity for resilience; its constitutionalism based on a solid legal framework, the independence of powers, freedoms, and social guarantees; the democratic tradition of its armed forces; the most highly trained human capital in its history; its biodiversity and commitment to a sustainable planet, and the solidarity and humanitarian character demonstrated in receiving two million Venezuelans.
Today, more than ever, committed approaches are necessary. When faced with the risk of populism, there is only one option: to unite efforts among all democratic forces to confront the pandemic, knowing that strengthening health and educational structures is the priority. The environment, social commitment, and good governance are the pillars that should guide companies. Ibero-America and Ibero-Americans have much to share and build.”
