Enrique Iglesias offered a conference on “The human face of development"

With the support of CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Latin American Center for Human Economy (CLAEH, for its acronym in Spanish), and the Astur Foundation organized a conference called "El rostro humano del desarrollo" (The human face of development), where the main speaker was Enrique Iglesias, former President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and former Secretary General of the Ibero-American General Secretariat. 

Recognized for his commitment with equity and his extensive work in international organizations, Iglesias analyzed the historical evolution of the economy and its relationship with disadvantaged sectors. Starting with the concept of charity, promoted by the main religions worldwide for thousands of years, he made an in-depth analysis of the meaning of solidarity, which incorporated social responsibility to the old idea of love thy neighbor. 

In a consumer world, which registers an increasing growth of middle classes, Iglesias thinks it is necessary to support the civil society to prevent the most vulnerable sectors to be the price of development. He expressed, " Solidarity is to accept that in the world, we are all responsible for everyone. The human face is the essential commitment. The resources and the tools exist, so there are no reasons for not having sensitive markets". 

Economist Gabriel Oddone, partner at CPA Ferrere and the first participant to comment on Iglesias' speech, referred to the "tension" between the concepts of equity and growth. He stated, "There are suggestions regarding whether it could be necessary to give up part of growth to preserve equity". He indicated that this tension has more energy in medium economies, where fragmentation is greater. At the extremes, an increase in growth may be perceived positively, as richer groups benefit directly, and the poor receive policies that tend to improve their situation. This does not happen in medium sectors. 

This point was also addressed by Javier Pereira, Sociologist and Executive Director of the América Solidaria Foundation in Uruguay. He pointed out that to overcome this tension it is necessary to clearly distinguish the roles of the State, the market, and civil society. On the same line with Iglesias, Pereira stated that "strong civil societies get the best out of the State", so he called to strengthen the role of non-governmental organizations, seeking inclusion through the more stable groups. 

He also commented, " We cannot think of inclusive development if we do not work with the sectors that are already integrated. It is all about changing the way we look at things, to stop looking at the other one as a threat. That is the base to reestablish the links. As citizens, we are all co-responsible for those who are at a disadvantage". 

Cristina Lustemberg, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Public Health, explained that solidarity must focus on the first stage of children, as it is here that inequity is established. She stated "Twenty percent of Uruguayan children live below the poverty line, and one fourth experience violence in their homes. If we do not make a social pact to overcome these issues, any program to be implmented will be palliative. Uruguay will not advance if we do not understand that the most important equity begins at the start of life".   

Finally, Doctor Romeo Pérez Antón, Vice-President of CLAEH, insisted on the roles of the State, civil society, and the market, to provide "a human face to development", and concluded that "maybe we must go back to the qualitative approach without losing what was left by the quantitative approaches" of the economy. 

The conference closed with a recognition to Enrique Iglesias for his support to the economic and social development of Latin America, for which he was named an honorary member of CLAEH. Iglesias ratified his commitment with social issues, and closed his presentation remembering the deceased founder of the Institution, Juan Pablo Terra.