The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez , has advocated for a new social contract that allows combating inequalities and for which greater tax justice will be necessary , including the end of tax havens and downward international competition in tax matters , which has deprived governments of the resources necessary to finance investments essential to face crises such as the one posed by the pandemic.
” There is no social justice if there is no tax justice and fair and progressive taxes are essential to maintain public services,” Sánchez defended in his speech at the IV CEAPI Ibero-American Congress for company leaders and business families.
In this sense, the Spanish president has claimed to avoid the fiscal dump in certain sectors linked to new technologies , which have been reinforced during the current crisis, in addition to “putting an end not only to tax havens, but also to competition from the drop in global taxation “.
“The recovery must be fair, promoting a new social contract that allows a more inclusive economic model,” defended Sánchez, who has warned of the risk that Latin America and the Caribbean lose decades of development due to the pandemic.
In this regard, he highlighted that Spain and other Ibero-American partners have appealed to international financial institutions and development banks to take into account the unique situation of the region’s economies, especially those of middle income.
New instruments
“We believe that international institutions and development banks should create new instruments or adapt existing ones,” said the Spanish president, highlighting that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has opened an opportunity with the new allocation of its special drawing rights (SDR).
Thus, Spain with its Latin American partners has proposed the creation of a new tool financed with loans of these SDRs from developed countries to support the most vulnerable middle-income countries.
“We want to bet on the ability of Latin America to rebuild its national spaces with a more just and sustainable model, taking advantage of the opportunity to transform our societies and solve problems that we have been dragging on for decades,” he said.
Public politics
However, Sánchez has emphasized that mistakes from the past should not be repeated and it is time for governments to make use of all the means and tools to promote public policies that allow building a better world.
” The health crisis has starkly revealed the limitations of the economic model that has been imposed in large areas since the 1980s,” Sánchez recalled, for whom, although it is true that very important growth has been achieved, Inequality also persists, not only social, but intergenerational, gender or between territories, which fuels a growing disaffection on the part of citizens excluded from the distribution of wealth.
In this sense, the Spanish president has recognized that the action of the public sector “will not be sufficient” to achieve these objectives, so the participation and commitment of the private sector will be necessary.
In this way, he stressed that the Spanish Government is committed to Latin America continuing to be a fundamental market for the expansion of Spanish companies.
“There are opportunities for this and the Government will do everything possible to accompany them,” said Sánchez. “Keep investing in Latin America, it is a safe bet,” added the Spanish president, pointing out that ensuring a safe and stable business climate is essential for companies to continue investing in the region.
