Speech at High-Level Conference "United in providing a response for Latin America and the Caribbean to COVID-19"

PEDRO SÁNCHEZ. President of the Government

Dear presidents and public officials,

I am accompanied here by the Vice-President for Economic Affairs, Nadia Calviño, and also by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya.

All three of us warmly embrace each and everyone one of you.

I want to begin by expressing what an honour it is for me to chair this High-Level Conference that gathers us here today with the aim of providing a joint multilateral response to the COVID-19 crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean.

I want to thank you for your participation, for your commitment to the future of the region, which is essential for the global economy, also for the European economy, and particularly for my country, Spain, which obviously has very close ties with each and every one of the countries taking part in this video-conference.

We are gathered here at a critical time. The American continent, following on from what the European continent has suffered, has unfortunately become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, which recognises no borders and which is seriously affecting, as indeed it also did in Europe, the lives and health of millions of people, particularly those most vulnerable.

Just a few weeks ago, both in Europe and in Spain, we found ourselves at the worst point of a health crisis that we cannot consider to be defeated until science discovers a solution through a vaccine or a therapeutic remedy.

However, during this time we have learned a lot. We have learned that it is precisely at the most difficult times, such as the one we are going through, when we need to be more united than ever, and when we need to provide a multilateral response. And Spain, my country, is closer today than ever, and I would like to underline this, to Latin America, and the Caribbean, because we have a common goal, which is to corner the virus, to protect everyone's health and to re-launch the economy and not leave anyone behind.

I would like to use these words to pay a special tribute, which I am convinced will be shared by everyone, to the victims of COVID-19, to their families, and to acknowledge the admirable effort and commitment of public servants, of healthcare workers and of all groups, both in the public and the private sector, who have made it possible for our countries to avoid grounding to a halt, to ensure our economies continue, albeit at a slower pace. I would also like to acknowledge the whole of society which, through responsibility, through discipline and a scent for victory, and also clearly through solidarity, has proven to be the best shield to halt the spread of COVID-19.

The terrible health impact, and consequently, the also terrible economic and social impact of the pandemic, has forced all our economies, all our governments, to take decisive and courageous decisions. Accordingly, most governments in Latin America and the Caribbean reacted swiftly to the virus, but unfortunately, the pandemic continues to see outbreaks and the economic forecasts show a bleak horizon, as we have seen in today's forecasts from the International Monetary Fund.

According to the main international financial institutions, the region of Latin America and the Caribbean will suffer an unprecedented downturn this year in economic activity, the worst of any emerging region on the planet. And clearly the risks for next year - 2021 - are high, mainly of a possibility of a second wave in the coming months.

But, despite this, I believe it is very important for our governments to convey to the people, to the whole productive sector, that we cannot be guided by desperation or be paralysed by uncertainty. We must act. And we must act on a united front and in a decisive fashion.

The is why I believe the Declaration we sign today is fundamental because it contains the main lines of action that the different governments and international financial institutions consider to be essential to tackle the challenges we face.

I am convinced that, if we work on a multilateral basis then this will offer a solution to this crisis; a coordinated, supportive response, placing our trust in science and in progress will, I am convinced, allow us to overcome this unprecedented crisis that our societies are facing and suffering from.

A crisis of great dimensions that will require we develop new tools to manage it. And this should be made possible through leadership and public-private collaboration.

I believe that now is the time for governments to make use of all the resources within our grasp, as we are doing, to strengthen our public policies and build a better future for our fellow countrymen together.

Latin American and Caribbean economies are facing a dual challenge, if you will allow me to express this thought. On the one hand, these are the same thoughts we also have in Europe - designing robust public policies is fundamental in tackling the immediate consequences of the pandemic, by strengthening, for example, public health policies and protecting workers in very casual labour markets.

And on the other hand, laying the foundations so that the economies in the region can address macro-economic and social imbalances in the medium and long term. Fiscal, exchange rate and financial stability. And also, logically, address some of the changes that have speeded up as a result of COVID-19, such as digitalisation. And address the climate emergency. Although this is a health emergency, just look, the amount of economic and human resources we are throwing at it, I cannot imagine this climate emergency if we are unable to anticipate a joint and multilateral response to this even greater challenge. But clearly, fiscal, exchange rate and financial stability, social justice, digitalisation and addressing the ecological transition in terms of social justice must be at the heart, in my opinion, of the recovery strategies to ensure sustained, sustainable and inclusive growth. Nor do I want to forget science or education, fundamental in this challenge we face The exit from the crisis cannot be at the cost of more inequality - I believe that this is also one of the main commitments we address in the joint Declaration, nor can it be at the cost of leaving the most vulnerable behind, who have already suffered the consequences of the last crisis back in 2008.

In this context, we all have a great deal to gain from greater global coordination, both at a multilateral level and at a bilateral level. In terms of bilateral exchanges, I have had the chance to talk with some of you presidents. I believe that the flow of ideas, of knowledge, of the exchange of ideas between Spain and the countries in the region can be and is, indeed, enriching. I am also aware that health ministers are in ongoing contact to share these experiences. We have a lot to learn from experiences in all areas, not just from the COVID-19 crisis, but also from financial crises and the design of measures for those sectors of the population with the fewest resources. Here in Spain, for example, since the outbreak of the pandemic, we have set up a network of protection with four fundamental pillars. The first is for companies, through guarantees for lines of credit; secondly, for workers, through their protection under temporary lay-off plans; thirdly for families, for example, through the introduction of the minimum living wage for those families with the fewest resources, which plans to remove some 850,000 households from poverty, particularly child poverty. And finally also, as you are aware, in Spain we have a decentralised system of government. We have allocated economic resources to the regional governments which run public health in our country, for example.

We must also strengthen the multilateral response to the crisis. We must change our frameworks of reference. This is one of the reflections and lessons that I would at least like to share with you.

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean cannot benefit from many of the initiatives adopted in response to this crisis as they are based on abstract classifications, such as GDP. And because, as you all know, the level of income of a country is not a true snapshot of the inequalities suffered by the people. And this is a clear disadvantage in benefitting from the traditional instruments of the international financial institutions.

That is why I feel it is necessary for the international and regional financial institutions to develop responses adapted to the needs of the region without prejudicing the future of generations to come and we must tackle the future while avoiding the mistakes of the past.

In order for international financial institutions to be useful and effective, they must obviously have more resources. In order to be credible, they must have a capacity for response in line with the size of the economic and financial imbalances caused by the health emergency in Latin America and the Caribbean. And moreover, we must push through debates at global forums in which we are all present and play a part, such as the G-20 and the different United Nations agencies. Through them, I am convinced that we can head up a global response to the health crisis.

COVID-19 has exposed some of the main weaknesses of our models of society, not only in Latin America and the Caribbean, but around the world, in my experience as a European.

Once again, the most vulnerable have been unfairly and disproportionately exposed, above all women, children and young people. Millions and millions of people depend on our actions today to aspire to lead a dignified life with equal opportunities.

If we are gathered here today, dear presidents and public officials, it is because we want to support countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to recover the path of inclusive and sustainable growth as soon as possible. We must foster something I feel is fundamental, which is transforming investments in order to strengthen the social protection system and the business fabric, and to develop tax systems and social policies that are fairer and more efficient.

In Spain, we are fully aware that this goal requires effort, a great deal of constancy and determination, and that it won't be achieved in the short term, from one day to the next. But we must implement this as soon as possible.

Consequently, we need the collaboration of all institutions and governments. I reiterate that this requires a multilateral response.

Dear presidents, we are here to listen to you, to support your efforts, to convey our solidarity given the pandemic you are now suffering from, and this will not remain constant, but only because we have suffered from this in recent weeks, but also because everything that happens in Latin America and the Caribbean, we live and feel as if it were our own. You can count on our support, you know that, be in no doubt, to build a better future together for our fellow countrymen.

I will end now and hand over to the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, whom I thank a great deal for the work she has been carrying out in recent weeks, over these critical months, Kristalina Georgieva, to inaugurate the first segment of this Conference, given over to the response by the international financial institutions to the impact of COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)

Non official translation