It is that the world demands raw materials and energy, and energy has a clear potential in both. But at least for those who debated today on the second day of the 58th IDEA Colloquium, consensus, actions, and clear rules of the game are needed to “insert” Argentina in the world.
The first to open the discussion was Xavier Sala i Martin, professor of Economics at Columbia University, who stated that Argentina must speed up the pace to take advantage of the opportunity because it is not known when it will end. The world today is a hotbed of inflation due to the consequences of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. And the exit from that crisis can mark the closing of that window of opportunity.
“The role of the Government should not be to choose sectors with productive and export potential, but to create the institutional bases of legal certainty and predictability, so that it is the companies that take care of investing and developing. Governments are going to change over time and they don’t have the incentives to invest that companies have,” he said.
And he continued: “In the Energy and Food sectors, the opportunities to grow today are on the world table; but we don’t know if they will continue like this. Russia’s war can be over in a week or go on for a long time.”
“Current trends in energy and food will be favorable if Argentina creates the foundations for a competitive economy, with better conditions in education, labor legislation and financial conditions. The world will play in favor of Argentina if the Argentines play well; if not, they will lose this World Cup, ”he concluded.
In addition, he fired a question: Could Jeff Bezos be Argentine? “If Bezos had been Argentine, Amazon would not have been born in Argentina because the conditions to install its system are not given and commercial protection claims would have arisen,” he opined.
To its turn, Daniel Gonzalez, Executive director of Idea, said that “we do not want to present proposals that can relax in the short term or project for the future the film of the past that we saw yesterday.”
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Industry, José Ignacio de Mendiguren, crossed paths with former Macrista minister Dante Sica, in a spicy exchange that was the highlight of the day.
“We always turn Argentina into a very expensive country to import and cheap to export (…) We must have a non-childish vision of the world because the world protects itself,” said the national official, who also asked the businessmen to be them those who give in now to stop the rise in prices.
In the corridors, businessmen commented on the alternatives that the Government is considering against inflation, which is still unleashed. And under the motto “give in” that marked the Colloquium, there is little room they see to do so. An executive who works with the main mass consumption companies in the country told Ámbito that in some sectors profitability fell from a historical 12% to around 4%. At this time, some movement is expected from the Ministry of Economy together with the companies.
“There are many businessmen who like to negotiate profitability in official offices and not in the market,” Sica said for his part and accused the sector of “pulling the tail out of the syringe.” On the point of debate, the insertion of Argentina in the world, he maintained that the country has had a closed economy for decades and that it must open up, but he pointed out that with balance and in a sustained manner, regardless of who governs.
Serge Kaufmann, director of IDEA and president of Accenture Argentina and Hispanic South America, expressed his opinion: “I believe in intelligent protection, since protecting allows planning for the future and that is development.” Also participating in the day Mariano Bosch (co-founder of Adecoagro), Laura Barnator (general manager, Unilever for Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay), Claudio Rodríguez (director of Administration and Finance of Sinteplast), and Ivana Cavigliaso (president of the Chamber of Peanuts and director of Prodeman) .
In general, both the exhibitors and the entrepreneurs participating in the Idea Colloquium were in favor of the proposed slogans, supporting the slogan of “yielding”, but with caution. They mainly pointed out that the only way to do it is through dialogue and consensus. The question again is: Who and what has to be compromised?
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
