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Think, Central America in a New Era, is our chance to
retake the vision that will allow us to achieve our Integral
Development as a region.
To which we must reconsider our objectives taking advantage
of all the strengths and opportunities we have as a region
to empower and create more and better opportunities for Central Americans.
The regional integration is essential for countries to
reach a Regional Development.
The purposes of the Central American Integration is important,
including the political, economic, social, tariff rate and many others
it definitely would be beneficial to achieve the Integral Development.
The Esquipulas Foundation has been a leader in the consolidation of this process,
contributing to the preservation of peace, the strengthening
of democracy and the promotion of Integral Development.
Welcome to Investment and Development.
Today we will address the subject: "Think Central America in a New Era"
for which we have with us today: Marco Vinicio Cerezo, former president of the
Republic of Guatemala and Olinda Salguero, Director of the Foundation Esquipulas.
Welcome.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Former President we were talking of the Central American Region.
How Esquipulas Foundation has contributed to the integration of the
Central American region?
Well, first of all what we have done is to re-emphasize the
Central American Integration topic.
Assuming that if Central America was united, it would become
in the most important strategic region of the world from the
economic and political point of view.
And for that we essentially perform three activities.
Political advocacy activities, we try to promote among
political leaders this awareness.
In 2nd. place we perform an academic work,
promoting in the young, in the new professionals, awareness
of the importance of the Regional Integration
and finally of course we do partnership agreements with
civil society, in order to build a movement of ideas aimed
to realize that together we will be able to develop in a better way.
The union makes the strength.
What progress has the Central American Integration achieved in the last 10 years?
Since the peace process, the signing of the Esquipulas I
and the Esquipulas II Agreement.
When the peace was achieved and the democracy was institutionalized it was created an adequate environment
for economic growth in the region.
And there has been truly an exponential growth to the point,
that at this moment the global economic crisis has not affected
Central America despite the fall of the U.S.A. markets.
The Central American market has become the 2nd. most important market
for all countries.
And has grown from a year trade of US$ 600 million
to US$ 16 billion across the region and a little more,
I have not updated figures, but it is truly amazing,
which of course has created jobs, capitalization
and Central America has become a place of opportunities
for international investment.
Central America is a conglomerate of countries that together could have
better results.
Olinda,
how should people visualize in different countries, the
various benefits we could gain by having a greater integration?
There are many things that could be done in the practice, quite specific ones
for example if we establish a Central American passport
and we stopped filling all those papers at the airports
or even if you go by bus, also they do a check up at the border of
Guatemala and El Salvador that is extremely uncomfortable and both are
relatively close, that could cease to exist.
We could have a much more dynamic trade,
now recently we have signed the Association Agreement with Europe
there are other possibilities, for example Europe's economy is
mainly based on services and ours is mainly agricultural.
So here we see a niche opportunity, because we could
import technology from Europe.
But they could also help us to develop technically
the agricultural market in a better way.
There are many opportunities that we see in the subject of studies,
student exchanges could be made.
The homologation of the University Degree Programs, for a professional of Guatemala
be able to work in Costa Rica without any problems or vice versa
or even a subject that is very present in the public opinion
the migrants issue.
If we were united, we could negotiate a Regional Policy
for the Integral Migration, considering all the aspects and not just by looking at the TPS
that is important.
Mainly the Central American migrants are in the United States, they could
have better opportunities and also their families in countries
could have better opportunities.
How do you visualize an Integrated Central America and, also with
the Caribbean, because we already have the Dominican Republic and recently
Panama has formally joined us, on the issue of attracting investment,
in the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises and in Employment Generation?
Because our people, what they need is more and better opportunities.
A very clear opportunity is the infrastructure, in this world of globalization
and with the strategic position that Central America has, we have everything to do,
in roads, ports, airports, fast trains
that the Foundation has placed a great emphasis on these ideas and that necessarily takes a lot of work.
But SMEs are created around mega projects.
Indeed the economy of the region, the Economic and Social Development,
could be reached with mega projects that will include the whole of society.
Even if you see it in a micro level, if we could consider
the municipalities, in fact there are many opportunities as well.
Since the SICA, the Central American Integration System has advanced
in the productive work with municipalities but if I am not wrong at this moment
are working around 70 or 83 municipalities in the region,
with local development models, that can begin to give them better
benefits and a better life quality for the people.
Mr. Former President, which changes does the Central American Integration and the Caribbean promotes,
in political issues, tariff rate, logistics at ports, airports, infrastructure?
In first place it's one thing that must be clear, from the time it was conceived the new
Central American Integration System, which arises with the Peace Accords,
there is the inspiration.
Because we realized that we could not achieve peace,
and institutionalizing the democracy, if we don’t do it regionally.
In a region where there is conflict there is not stability and security.
And if there is no stability and no security, there is definitely no
economic growth and development.
Therefore the first approach was that the effort must be regional.
In 2nd. place to achieve that effect, we had to institutionalize
the process.
There came the Treaty of Tegucigalpa, where it was created the System of
Central American Integration, this system is based on three pillars
as any country in the world.
One mechanism is the Executive Pillar, the assembly of the Presidents
that takes place every six months and it is where the right directions are made.
To move forward in the integration process.
The Central American Parliament has been limited,
because it does not have all the attributions in order to take
regional decisions.
What Olinda mentioned, the exclusive passport,
the Central American nationality, the approval of laws for professionals
to work in any country, it must be through the approval of laws,
through unification of legal issues in all countries
and this is done by the Central American Parliament.
And a Central American Court of Justice, because the development is based
also in the Legal Certainty.
This means that entrepreneurs, foreign investors, domestic investors
or local need Legal Certainty to make investments
and this is given by the Central American Court of Justice.
The system has been designed as a total system, for it
to work it must operate in its whole.
For this to progress is definitely needed political leadership.
Presidents have to make the decision, as how it was done in 1,986 and 1,987
with the signing of the Peace Accords, to move forward, is in the hands
of the Presidents, political leaders, national leaders of
each of the countries to advance on the road.
Because now what we have to do is go passing those laws
derived from the General Agreements of Central America to implement
and create the legal and institutional infrastructure, enabling what Luis said
about the process development.
And I'm going to mention two things.
1st. we need to check the Unique Treaty to unify the operation
of all institutions.
It has to move in the Customs Unification.
There have been some specific elements in the security issue.
The Regional Security Agreement that allows each of the
local countries make an effort and a collective effort to confront
the two major diseases of our time.
The two major pathologies of our time those are the organized crime
and drug trafficking.
A country can't face alone there must be a collective effort
regional character with the help of other countries belonging to
Mesoamerica.
So the progress of the Central American Integration to achieve
it's objectives, is a development that is based essentially
in the making of political decisions and that requires political leadership
of visionary Presidents and with capacity of realizing that
if we don't unify efforts, we can't succeed.
I totally agree.
We will go to break and then we will continue with Investment and Development.
We continued Investment and Development.
Olinda, how can we attract more tourism to the Central Region?
Imagine, we have many beautiful places we can not only build packages
for Guatemala, but for the entire Central American region.
I would say that having a Regional Tourism Policy and correcting all
the issues makes it difficult the mobility of people.
What we talked about the airports, the discomfort of passing
the customs, but even with the best strategies for costs
internally, can decrease and more people can come.
In the world this year if I'm not wrong there are 600 million tourists who walk
everywhere, but of those 600 million, the region gets a
very low percentage.
Even statistics for 2,030 of the organizations that measure
the potential tourism says, it will be one trillion 800 thousand tourists traveling in the year 2,030.
Yet Latin America, even Central America, Latin America
will have only a 13% of the tourism.
Of course in Latin America, South America will be the main beneficiary
and we can see those numbers, those projections to
make scenarios and to be able to do joint strategies that have been tried
in the region.
In fact, right now there is an effort, not only institutional
of the governments, but also in business.
Some regional companies have joined "Discover Central America".
We have everything wonderful of the Mayan Cosmovision of this year
The thirteen B'qtun and we have to use it and there has been some
local efforts in Guatemala.
But in fact there is not a regional policy, a strategy
of medium and long term, to promote small and medium
tourism companies.
Sustainable Development, also looking for ecological options
we can develop a lot in that issue.
The region with the 1% of the territory of the world, has 8% of biodiversity
and it is not something that we are getting advantage of
because we have to start from a much wider umbrella, it would be
the Regional Tourism Policy in which we all seek to win.
We can definitely complement each other and Central America
has great opportunities.
Mr. Former President you as promotor of the Esquipulas I,
Esquipulas II, Esquipulas III
told us a moment ago that there must be a political leadership and there has
to be a willingness at the highest level of the Presidents
and say "enough", we have to achieve the Regional Integration
that we all want.
What specific actions should we implement in each of the countries
to say, we are in the 21st century, this is our century, this is our decade?
Let put behind this 178 years in which we have not achieved the integration, but
let’s visualize Central America in a new dimension in the development dimension
and that unity is strength.
I think that the Presidents first should be convinced that the
local problem is strictly circumstantial, that we must look to the future.
In one occasion when I was talking to the Presidents in a region of Honduras, in one occasion
I told them that people really were
probablemente se va a recordar poco de cuantos puentes hice yo o
of how many schools I did and the material things or how many roads
did we asphalt during my presidency.
But their whole life they will remember that I was one of the signatories of
the Peace Accords.
So when the President is in the exercise of the Presidency
of the Republic, what you have to think is to transcend historically
do things that transform things forever.
And one of the things that can make the Presidents transcend
historically, is to convert the Central American Region in the
most developed region in Latin America to strengthen democracy and
that on one hand causes Sustainable Development and on the other to be equal for all the countries.
Because the Peace Accords ended the war and succeeded
on the consolidation of the democracy, but left an unfinished agenda.
That is why we at the Esquipulas Foundation have been talking about
de Esquipulas III.
Because the pending agenda is for the middle class and popular sectors.
That has produced wealth, an enormous wealth in our export capacity
to the world, so much, but also to Central America.
But you said earlier when we were talking
off camera.
"What holds the Central American Integration are small and
medium enterprises, small and medium entrepreneurs
are actually creating labor, sufficient opportunities
for people and allowing the development to become an equitable development".
This means all the wealth that we have created must also reach people,
and that is the unfinished agenda.
And for that we have to make decisions that integrate us progressively
in some things, such as tourism policy.
We cannot develop a Regional Tourism Policy, if we do not eliminate
border barriers,
if we don't allow people to circulate freely in all regions,
if we do not allow airlines to exercise the 5th. freedom of the air,
flying to various places and sights, if we do not eliminate the
immigration barriers.
What Olinda mentioned at the beginning, to come to Central America
an European tourist that can travel across Europe without limitation,
to the United States without any limitations and comes to Central America
and every half hour he has to get off the plane and has to fill a paper
to go to another country and pay for a visa to enter another country
and fill out paperwork to leave the country and pay taxes to leave the country.
He is going to be discouraged and is not going to come to Central America.
Definitely, we have to eliminate the barriers between countries
because as one great Latin American writer said, "Borders are
wounds that continue to mark and remember our ancient past,
differences, clashes and war
and divide us more".
Olinda, Which projects should be carried out after the Central American Integration
for example an electric train that goes from Guatemala to Panama?
Well first I want to comment that the integration is not
conceived as an end in itself is it is not that we are going to get the integration,
to reach integration.
But it is the mechanism to create the political, economic
and social conditions for the Economic and Social Development.
Then it does not necessarily mean that Guatemalans
will stop being Guatemalans or Hondurans will stop being Hondurans.
NO, we will remain Guatemalans, Hondurans,
Ticos, Nicas, but we will be making the most of the advantages we can have together,
that's the point.
The fast electric train or from the border of Mexico to Panama
is just one of the mega projects.
In fact we mentioned that in terms of infrastructure
everything can be done in Central America.
But not only the train would greatly facilitate communications,
as the president said we should correct the limitations caused by the borders
because an express ride of 350 miles per hour, if it have to stop
on a half an hour in El Salvador because they have to do the
registration, then it makes no sense, but that's just one project.
Integrating in fact would never have an end, because it is about reaching
common policies for investment.
An investor for the train that you mentioned as an example, can
cost more than US$ 6 billion, then that requires local investment
but also foreign investment.
Probably some development funds but they will not come and invest
that amount of resources if we don't have integrated all the legal mechanisms,
political mechanisms and the Legal Certainty to make the investment.
It also requires a change in the way of thinking of all Central Americans.
We will continue with and advertising break and then we will continue Investment and Development.
We continue with investment and development.
Mr. President, the Oxlajuj B'qtun, New Era, originates in Guatemala,
we are the crib of the Mayan Culture, the capital of Mesoamerica.
"Think Central America into a New Era" is the theme of the Regional Forum
Esquipulas in its 3rd. edition you'll have this year.
What does "Think Central America into a New Era" mean and what
is the focus of this great forum that will bring together about 1,500 people,
on the 8th and 9th of August this year?
The truth is that this forum like others, but especially this,
there has been 25 years since the signing of the Esquipulas II and at the end of Thirteen B'qtun.
We want to become a great inspiration,
for people to dream of a new Central America.
I would ask people to think of a different Central America
from the one we have right now.
A Central America where as when you go to Europe or the United States,
inspires one to dream of something better.
A Central America where there is a fast electric train to go
border to border from Mexico to Panama. Where there can be very modern ports
which facilitate internal and external trade, which can have 3 interoceanic channels
working together so that all the world merchandise
pass through Central America and that converts Central America
in the world's largest economic and strategic area.
Think of a Central America where the amount of unemployed people can decreased to a minimum
and that we can give employment to all people
because there will be a lot of investments.
Think of a Central America like when we feel when we go
to TACA or COPA or any Central American airlines,
that one is proud that they work better, with better quality
and better care than the U.S.A. airlines or airlines
from other countries.
Think of a Central America where everything works perfectly well,
where it was completed the electrically connection of the entire region, where we
can have food security, where there are no people dying
of hunger, where democracy is consolidated for all countries and where
all Presidents are thinking every day in solving their
problems and that is what ministers serve for, but to build the
Central America of Future, this forum is about all of these.
What can all Central Americans expect in the political aspect,
in the economic aspect, in the logistical aspect, in the aspect of new challenges? When we attend
this 3rd. event that I am sure will a high quality event, there will be
about 6 or 8 former presidents and where will be a conglomerate
of political, social, economic, academic and religious
leaders of the entire Central America Region.
The 1st. thing that you can expect is to find out about all the advances that
Central America has done in a concrete way, because a
SICA representative could be the General Secretary and will
explain the status of the region.
That's a very important thing, because sometimes to think of the future
one has to be aware of the realities that we are living
and the benefits that it has.
The 2nd. thing we expect is to see those who have thought
of Central America from the intellectual point of view, what do they believe that
should be the design of the next steps so that the region can
constitute as a Develop Region.
And in 3rd. place we are going to learn from the experiences of former presidents.
In fact we will be nine former presidents of Latin America, Central America
and Guatemala, talking, sharing about our experiences.
Olinda, What should be the role of the Governors, Mayors, Presidents of the
Development Councils in the Central American Integration from being not an
opposition, but to be agents of change in this area?
In the same way that countries are integrated at the level of the Executive,
the Presidency, the National Assembly of the Parliament, in
an integrated manner.
The idea is to coordinate the efforts, there are many projects
that can be described in a very good way, but that remain isolated
or we may be repeating the efforts that are being done in El Salvador
because of the lack of communication where a plan that we can reach together
hand by hand can let us achieve better results.
It doesn’t mean that an isolated plan will not have results, but it could get us
better results if we start working in a coordinated and institutional way.
Because we must not only strengthen institutions in the country but in the region
and work hand by hand with these organizations and civil society
as the foundation does.
For example, we are promoting regional integration, we approach to
the Central American Integration System, then in the same way,
some other organizations that are in the municipalities or departments
approach their Mayors, then to their Governors, and these last ones turn to the Central Government,
And Central Government approaches to the mechanisms that are established
to do so in a regional way.
Of course, there is a role for local authorities
that they should play and of course the involvement of young people and
women also.
As the successful American Forum of Young Entrepreneurs
where we saw more than 2,000 young people from all Latin America and thank you very much
to the Esquipulas Foundation, to you Olinda and Mr. Former President also
for all the support given to us, which was very successful.
In order to go ending "Think Central America in a New Era" in the New Era
of the 21st century, the B'qtun Oxlajuj where we visualize an Integrated Development,
an Economic Development, a Social Development, where can have those opportunities.
What is the message that we send to all Central American people
political, academic, religious, Presidents, the whole society,
to finally understand that the only viable option for
our countries is the integration and teamwork and we must
attend this Regional Forum on the 8th and 9th of August?
I think the most important thing that the people need to hear
in the forum and learn is:
that the large developed conglomerates in the world,
as Europe, though it has problems right now is still an example
of development with social cohesion.
United States, the integration of Asian countries, led by China.
All financial conglomerates, its leaders have understood
that each individual country cannot move forward,
and cannot achieve development.
The leaders have been able to read the future and have known that only unifying efforts,
or just adding efforts, wealth, intelligence, technical development
of each of the countries can actually produce a development
that can really solve the big problems we are experiencing.
That's why that phrase that this member of the Board of the
Foundation Esquipulas said, Mr. Danilo Roca:
"That countries should move inward toward decentralization
for mayors, governors, local authorities to meet
their responsibility and have the resources to do so".
But we need to move outwards towards the Regional Integration
to combine the efforts and become large conglomerates
in the competitive world.
Globalization requires the integration and we again want to bring a
hope to the people.
That they can travel through Central America and do it safely and freely.
That they go into the world with a Central American passport.
That we will have Regional Policies to fight to live well
in the United States and other countries.
And that is our challenge.
Thank you very much Mr. Former President Cerezo, thanks for being with us Olinda
in Investment and Development.
And we are sure that the contribution you are doing is very
important for the development of the entire region.
The consolidation of the Central American and Caribbean region as a single block,
to maximize our competitive advantages in all the countries that integrate that block.
Unity is strength and integration of our economies,
will expand our opportunities to achieve greater
Economic and Social Development and therefore enter to new markets
and we attract more investments to create the millions of jobs we need.
Projects such as the Regional Forum of the Esquipulas Foundation,
can let us address issues, come to know new experiences, rethink our future.
"Think Central America into a New Era", YES, it is our challenge to achieve
a Regional Integration and Social and Human Development.
See you on the 8 th and 9th of August in this great event and of course
next week with an interesting program as the one of today.