Enrique Iglesias: “currently, the region is better prepared to face deceleration cycles"”

In a new edition of the program Conversando con CAF, Enrique Iglesias, former President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and Enrique Garcia, Executive President at CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, highlighted the importance of multilateral institutions and integration as key vehicles to face the challenges presented by the new Latin American socio-economic context. They also highlighted that despite economic difficulties, the region is currently better prepared to face deceleration cycles. 

Enrique Iglesias, who is also the former head of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB, for its acronym in Spanish), and former Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), stated, "we are facing difficult times worldwide, not only in Latin America, but we are much better than at similar moments in the past. We are not talking about great sacrifices, but rather about ordering things until this drought passes, and doing what we did not do in the fields of education, technology, and other areas".  

In this respect, Enrique Garcia, CAF's President, highlighted the preponderant role that credit multilateral organizations have had in the region. He stated, "Latin America has been an example of financial multilateralism. Very important institutions have been an essential pillar in their economic and social development".  

However, Garcia pointed out that no institution has the capacity to address all the needs of the region, so "the challenge is to seek convergent initiatives", adding that "as long as the objectives as clear and the interests are common, it is possible to have functional schemes that bring together different ideologies". 

The need for regional integration was a point of convergence. Iglesias highlighted that private companies are taking the lead with respect to real integration. 

He emphasized, "The private sector has 500 companies that are working in all the countries of Latin America, Private companies are the ones that are carrying out the real integration, with specific interests. In the sphere of integration institutions, excluding Central America and the Caribbean, the advance has been slower. It could have been more dynamic, and it is now the time to do it". 

García and Iglesias commented on the recent reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States. The IDB's former President considers that this event "inaugurates a stage of more constructive dialogue". 

Iglesias pointed out that the rapprochement between the United States and Cuba "opens the door to do things in the rest of Latin America, as the anti-American sentiment that somehow prevailed at the time has been eliminated, and these conversations have received wide support from all the countries of Latin America". 

García agreed with this, and highlighted that "it is important for Latin America to see the world in all its dimension, and relationships with the United States are extremely important to achieve productive transformation with value added".  

Education and innovation as challenges to improve productivity were also topics in this dialogue. Iglesias underlined that "Latin America has pockets of technological innovation, but it lacks a very important innovation regarding productivity". 

With respect to education, Garcia highlighted that "a great effort has to be made to take the educational level to the challenges of the XXI century".  

To see the dialogue between Iglesias and Garcia, access the Web site www.conversandoconcaf.com and the YouTube channel de Conversando con CAF