Spain and Latin America share a future

Spain and Latin America have a shared future and may strengthen their relationship in the political, economic, and social spheres, according to Latin American intellectuals and experts who participated in an Open Dialogue at the Headquarters of the Casa de America in Madrid, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, through the State Secretariat for International Cooperation and for Ibero-America, jointly with CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, in collaboration with Casa de America. 

The reflections carried out confirmed the title of the vent "Toward a Spanish-Latin American Shared Future", which helped to make a detailed analysis of relevant aspects of common interest for Spain and Latin America, as highlighted by the intervention of Jesus Garcia, State Secretary for International Cooperation and for Ibero-America. 

Jesus Garcia supported the idea of paving the way to political reflections at this time, in order to intensify the relationships between Spain and Latin America. The Secretary of State expressed his gratitude, as co-organizer of this Open Dialogue, for the participation of all the experts who sincerely debated on how to step up these relationships. 

CAF's Executive President, Enrique Garcia, highlighted the productive debate in Casa de America to strengthen the relationships between Spain and Latin America, and also the basic consensus regarding the shared future. 

Garcia explained that currently, Latin America has vast experience in crisis management, takes advantage of Chinese investments, has significantly reduced poverty, and experienced an improvement in the distribution of wealth, so the message is "not to be accommodating, as the region requires a very strong effort to carry out significant reforms and avoid some traps for its future". CAF's Executive President underlined that "the relationship with Asia is important, but let us not forget about Europe and Spain, where there must be an adequate balance with symmetric relationships", and highlighted the opportunities offered by the Canada-United States- Europe-Africa axis, which allows the countries of the region to "grow at a more sustained rate, with social equity". He ended his intervention highlighting the need for foreign investment for the development of infrastructures in Latin America. 

Welcome

In his welcoming words as a host, the Director of Casa de America, Tomas Poveda, pointed out that the "meeting point between the Atlantic and the Pacific, represented by the Panama Canal, symbolizes the bonds between Spain and Latin America, and are an example of the development of the region which has managed to lift more than 50 million people out of poverty". 

During the debate, moderated by Rafael Estrella, Vice President of the Real Instituto Elcano, Rebeca Grynspan, Ibero-American General Secretary; Jose Botafogo, Vice President of the Brazilian Center for International Relations and former Brazilian Ambassador to Argentina; Pedro Nikken, Venezuelan lawyer, former President of the Inter-American Human Rights Court, and Guillermo Perry, former Minister of Finance in Colombia,  reflected about integration in Latin America or the growth and demands of the middle class, from an optimistic perspective regarding the open attitude toward an Ibero-American spirit, and of certain expectations resulting from the revitalization experienced in the Ibero-American space.   

Rebeca Grynspan stated that the projects carried out in sectors such as education, health, infrastructures, and new technologies should be brought into the open, as they are "the best kept secret in history", and this does not enable a valuation of the ground covered from an optimistic perspective resulting from the open attitude toward the Ibero-American spirit, given the degree of maturity and two way relationships existing between Spain and Latin America. 

In addition, the experts addressed the role of the United States and China in the region in order to maintain the sustained growth index registered in the past few years, with more trade going both ways, and with greater fluidity.