The FPSC organizes a meeting with the Ambassadors of Ecuador and Mexico in Italy and with the Cultural Counselor of the Embassy of Spain in Italy.
The Encounter with the title “The European economic and demographic difficulties. The Latin America role in the future of the European continent” was organized in Rome last January 31.
This event included speeches by the United Mexican States Ambassador to the Quirinal, the Hon. Mr. D. Miguel Ruiz-Cabanas Izquierdo and D. Ignacio Sanchez House, the Education Counselor of the Embassy of Spain in Italy and author of “Europe and her barbarians. The spirit of the European culture”
The Ambassador of Ecuador in Italy and president of the “Istituto Italo Latino Americano” considered that Latin America is much more than a market and that the continent learned the lessons of the crisis for obeying multilateral lending bodies and therefore there have been two lost decades in which Europe lived to pay the foreign debt.
The Latin America countries, after the so called Washington Consensus, even with very different economic prescriptions, are all growing.
He cited the case of Brazil, where Lula said that multilateral control authorities asked him not to increase wages to prevent inflation.
However, the increases and the demand initially inflationary invigorated the economy that grew more than 8 percent to 40 million Brazilians who were incorporated into the middle class.
The diplomat considered that his country, Ecuador had changed the strategy: renegotiated debt, renounced to the Fund and now it has a road structure and a good health service without having privatized it.
He referred to two actions undertaken in Latin America: The bank that does not work goes bankrupt or Colombia that pumped money in the banks but with the guarantee that they would pay back and so they ended up paying in order to not be expropriated.
The Ambassador of Mexico noted that Latin America as a region is in a stronger position “because we are growing into a world were international economy is in an uncertain framework, while the European economy is in recession.”
He also said that Latin America is managed as a united region, capable of creating a new institution like the Community of Latin American and the Caribbean though with different economic recipes. “We have learned to respect each other, and if one opts for something he is supported, without the orthodoxy from 20 years ago and with a political union that we have never had.”
He believed that Europe will emerge from recession and find the leadership and the way though the discussion would take time. U.S. takes action and economic prescriptions faster unlike Europe which takes more time and does not have all the tools.
Based on Napolitano’s recent speech to the diplomatic corps, he said that thanks to the debt, Europe has had a high standard of living for thirty years, in a context of greater equality.
How to sustain the welfare state is the great challenge for Europe. It has to grow more evenly.
He also recalled that in Mexico there is a growing European investment and also Europe is having significant investments from Mexico.
On the demographic crisis indicated that the welfare state in Europe produced demographic decline, as in today Japan. Therefore the States need explicit policies, or turn to immigration.
To increase the demography they should have more babies, and therefore to create policies that support families. He concluded that a society has to renew its population, and to think about the next generations means to believe in the future.
In turn, D. Ignacio Sanchez House, Cultural Counselor of the Embassy of Spain in Italy talked about his recent book “Europe and her barbarians.”
He said that the three greatest creations of Europe identity: the Christian and Jewish religions, the Roman law and the Greek philosophy, Europe is more depository than creator.
He said that even if Europe loses population it would not be a problem to keep that culture.
He continued that the economic crisis that is suffering has many other dimensions, and there is a wrong treatment of problems, because the problems are corruption, cultural, moral, etc. not only economic.
He also indicated the need to escape the catastrophism or think that “the stability of the world and the environment are going to explode. Because you do not take into account that circumstances change. “
“The demographic issue however is bordering catastrophe and low birth favors the decrease. Beside, the welfare state corresponds to an increase in average age, or there will be more aging. And if there is a crisis, immigrants will neither come nor will remain,” he said.
He concluded by saying that it is not reduced to an ideological matter; some of these factors must change to reverse the situation.