Asobancaria: The Latin American economic crisis as seen by Marta Lucía Ramírez and former presidents of Mexico and Ecuador

The 59th banking convention, which brings together bankers and businessmen from all over the country, as well as international guests, in Cartagena , brought together on the same panel on its first day the former vice president of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez , and former presidents Ernesto Zedillo (Mexico) and Guillermo Lasso (Ecuador), who spoke with journalist Ricardo Ávila about the Latin American panorama in the context of a planet inflamed by the economic war between the United States and China, as well as the convulsive panorama of international armed conflicts.

Ricardo Ávila and former President Zedillo agreed on a first hypothesis regarding the Latin American crisis: "Colombians and Latin Americans have to learn to look at our own navels."

"The world is experiencing a unique moment in history with a system based on international trade, and this impacts issues of international peace and security. After the postwar period, in the context of the Second World War, we are experiencing an unprecedented and critical situation: We must recognize the gravity of geopolitics and the global economy . We are living in a system based on global rules and a system based on military and economic power," said former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.

Latin America has already completed another lost decade. Per capita GDP has practically not grown in over a decade. This is the worst decade, worse than the lost decade of the 1980s.

How are we Latin Americans going to cope in this context? asked Ávila.

"Any projections we make about our economies must be nuanced by these circumstances. What we're seeing from the United States today is that it's working against its own interests , against its own nation, and this will dramatically affect Latin America's role: Latin America has already completed another lost decade. Per capita GDP has practically not grown in over a decade. This is the worst decade, worse than the lost decade of the 1980s," Zedillo maintains.

For former Colombian Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez, the Latin American problem lies in the disunity of the nations that make up the cone and the lack of self-awareness.

“We are living through times of great change, not only because of the United States' attitude. After COVID and after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the world was never the same again. We have little control over what the US president does, and we are seeing a Latin America in precarious conditions. In addition to climate change and global warming, economies are stagnating and declining,” said former President Marta Lucía Ramírez.

He added: “In our region, we haven't managed wealth well. Latin America has low productivity, and we're not internationally competitive. But we could be a food production powerhouse: Latin America could be the world's agricultural breadbasket, but today it's a fractured region. We can be the epicenter of sustainable agriculture and leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to achieve stability and a sustainable economy.”

“Latin America can be the epicenter of renewable energy for the world, but we have to be creative. We could talk about integrating democratic countries for food and renewable energy production and developing artificial intelligence and technology. We have to act in areas where we haven't yet awakened.”

These criminal gangs seek to control the state for themselves. Control the rules of the game: I witnessed how political groups offered drug traffickers opportunities to hand over political power to those who profit from criminal economies.

Former Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso was a banker for 40 years, but entered politics in 2010. He won his country's top office in 2021.

For him, after the COVID pandemic, the world was never the same, and an economic, moral, and security crisis persists.

“The biggest problem affecting Latin America today is security: a serious, grave, and mutating problem of the 'drug trafficking business model.' From the coasts of Ecuador to the U.S., the problem has mutated into micro-drug trafficking, where children begin to use drugs, triggering a fight between criminal gangs on street corners, in neighborhoods, and in cities,” Lasso maintains.

"These criminal gangs seek to control the state for themselves. To control the rules of the game: I witnessed how political groups offered drug traffickers opportunities to hand over political power to those who profit from criminal economies," the former Ecuadorian president concluded.

Ricardo Ávila discussed the United States' threats to countries seeking to strengthen trade agreements with China ; however, former President Zedillo disagreed with the moderator regarding such global threats and a trade war between China and Donald Trump's nation.

It is regrettable that only eight countries in the world are considered perfect democracies,

For Zedillo, the world is a silent witness to the United States' aggression.

"We have been facing continued trade aggression from the United States in recent months: it has violated World Trade Organization agreements. It has violated all international free trade agreements, even violating its own laws and the United States Constitution," said Zedillo, who called for unity among democratic countries in the face of the arbitrary actions currently imposed by the United States.

“In the end, brute force will prevail: I am deeply concerned about how the world has reacted to the United States' aggression and its indifference to the violation of international humanitarian law in many countries. We need agreements between nations. We need clarity and leadership to consolidate democracy in the region.”

For the former Colombian vice president, the problem lies in the crisis of democracy.

“The defense of democracy is our responsibility: to foster the integrity of society. Today , it's regrettable that only eight countries in the world are considered perfect democracies, yet if we don't invest in education, science, or technology... we don't make agreements for growth and employment. We must train citizens to protect public resources, educate people in citizen oversight... only security and defense should be private matters; everything else should be public knowledge,” said Marta Lucia Ramírez.

Correspondent for EL TIEMPO