May 2013

CSR

The Colección Orinoco opened at the Museo Gaiás in Santiago de Compostela a few days ago. It is one of the most representative samples of the Latin American ethnographic world, and has been shown in several European countries -Germany, France, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Denmark and Slovenia- where it has been extraordinarily well received.

The exhibition arrives in Spain for the first time, which is significant for several reasons. First, because of the close ties we have with this country: friendship, tradition, business and even our own last name.

Second, because taking the Colección Orinoco to the Iberian Peninsula, and thus sharing with countless visitors an essential reality of the Venezuelan national identity, is for me paying homage to the 12 ethnic groups that have populated the Amazon jungle in the south of Venezuela.  These groups have enriched the country’s cultural heritage with their rituals, customs and natural knowledge.

Third, because opening Orinoco in the magnificent spaces of the Gaiás Museum in Santiago de Compostela is the accomplishment of a project that involves more than 30 years of work, the collection of objects, research, and the documentation of a magical area and the extraordinary abundance of its most genuine natural beauty. To be able to offer all of this now to a country that centuries ago witnessed the transformation of these same inhabitants fills us with pride and satisfaction.

Opinions

Behind a free trade agreement there is a clean and honest purpose to  gather people together… I heard this phrase from the Peruvian economist, Hernando de Soto, and I think that it perfectly describes the spirit of regional integration that we have sought in Latin America for decades.

It is true that over the years we have made several attempts to achieve integration, signing a wide range of cooperation and commercial agreements, but so far we have not reached that goal. It is for this reason that during my recent participation in a forum with business leaders from Latin America, I emphasized on the factors that I consider essential to achieve it, such as the establishment of shared goals, vision, and capacity for commitment, leadership, clear regulations, efficient enforcement mechanisms and, above all, sustained political will.

An example of what we should aim to is the Pacific Alliance, because I believe that this agreement signed by Chile, Colombia, México and Peru is perhaps the closer effort to what it should be a real integration in the region.

This Alliance seeks to gradually achieve the free transit of goods, services, capitals and people, and is moving forward towards that direction, with the elimination of visas among its members, and the plan to open joint embassies. It is certainly a great example of vision and unity towards a common goal for our continent that we should follow closely and help replicate.