“The influence of Latin America should grow in the world, with Spain as the champion”, he said. Trinidad Jimenez, former Minister of Foreign Affairs in a session of the Latin America on the Global Stage 2021 seminar, held at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR).
Despite the pandemic and short-term crises, the region maintains “democratic standards” -added the former minister-. Compared to Africa or the Middle East, it has “great potential, with three countries in the G20 -Brazil, Mexico and Argentina-“, and “the European Union should take over the reins of a strategic association, with Spain as an interlocutor.”
The cycle of conferences is organized by the Social Council of UNIR, chaired by the former minister Jordi Sevilla, in collaboration with New Magazine; and is run by own Trinidad Jimenez, currently director of Global Strategy for Public Affairs at Telefónica.
In the session, dedicated to Spain’s relationship with America, He participated Jose Antonio Gacía Belaunde, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru and Ambassador to Spain; and was moderated by the Emeritus Professor of Sociology Emilio Lamo de Espinosa, vice president of UNIR and member of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences.
Lamo de Espinosa She presented some of the political, economic and integration problems of Latin America, synthesizing them in the perception that she is “very self-absorbed. Seen from the outside it seems to be very overturned inside”.
Trinidad Jiménez explained that there are “some bankruptcies of democratic institutions in Latin America”
Trinidad Jimenez He stressed that “the world is changing and the way citizens are manifesting themselves.” But that “the questioning of the rulers, the crisis of the traditional political parties and the social and political unrest are not exclusive to Latin America but also occur in the rest of the world.”
He explained that there are “some bankruptcies of democratic institutions in Latin America.” “It worries me,” he said, “that in the last Latinobarometer 2021, the vast majority of citizens say that They would not mind having a totalitarian system, if it solves their problems«.
“The pandemic – he added – has aggravated some trends and has paralyzed economic processes” in those countries. And in the international context, “China has taken the place of the United States in Latin America.” The Asian giant has gone from “buying raw materials to making investments in energy and telecommunications.” AND “The EU does not show great interest in the region either”. It has traditionally closed some agreements with Latin America, but the ratification of the Mercosur treaty has been stalled for some time.
The former minister considered that Spain cannot renounce its role as interlocutor to establish strategic alliances with the EU, since it is the country that can best understand the region and vice versa. He quoted the Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes and his idea that if you want to understand Spain, you have to know Latin America.
In spite of everything, the region has “wickers and potential” that invite optimism. Jiménez argued that they open “Opportunities in the multipolar and globalized world”.
“With the digital revolution, Latin America can now join the train of history”
“It does not have good physical infrastructures but it does have digital ones; and commerce and education will be digital; it has a young population, concentrated in the big cities; and with the digital revolution it can now join the train of history, which it lost in the industrial revolution ”.
To do this, it is necessary to analyze “what elements have caused certain disruptions; and find a common agenda, leaving aside ideological prejudices”Added Trinidad Jiménez.
Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde, for his part, he pointed out that Latin America “had been accumulating very large inequalities (in poverty, education…), which generated social unrest. And corruption and the pandemic ended up weakening the structures of the region. He recalled a significant fact: “with 8% of the world’s population, Latin America has with more than 30% of confirmed fatalities by the COVID-19”.
The big problem is that the region “lacks a common agenda, unlike what happened in the 70s”
The big problem is that the region “lacks a common agenda, unlike what happened in the 70s”, in that despite “political differences – with governments of the left and right – it maintained a certain common position that it had to do with access to the markets of rich countries ”.
Another problem was believing that “Latin America has only one valid interlocutor: the largest country, Brazil. But it is not like that, because Brazil does not want to be either ”.
EDUCATIONAL AND CONNECTIVITY INTEGRATION
When considering integration, García Belaunde added that it would be good to look not only at “commercial but also in other areas, such as energy, education and connectivity.”
The former Peruvian minister agreed with Trinidad Jiménez in underlining the historical similarity between Latin America and Europe: «Europe and America are the most similar continents and we should work on common agendas«.
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