Panelistas:

• Alberto Fernández, Presidente de la Argentina
• Susan Segal, Presidente y CEO, Americas Society/Council of the Americas

En el evento de la Serie de Presidentes de las Américas con el Presidente de la nación Argentina Alberto Fernández, se habló principalmente de la necesidad de inversión en el país sudamericano. "Lo que más necesita la Argentina es inversión, producción, trabajo y desarrollo, no hay otro modo que no sea a través del desarrollo", dijo el mandatario. Fernández destacó también el factor mayor de la pandemia del nuevo coronavirus y sus efectos en no solo la economía argentina pero mundial, pero dijo que es una oportunidad para desarrollar el país de una manera más equitativa, señalando que en el país con un 40 por ciento de pobreza no se puede postergar más un acuerdo de reestructuración de la deuda. Dijo, "no podemos más que esto. No es capricho, es sensatez".

El presidente resaltó que el país se debe desendeudar, exportar, y salir del déficit. Incluso, subrayó algunas oportunidades para la Argentina, incluyendo la minería, los alimentos, la producción de gas, la economía del conocimiento, y la unión Europea, entra otros temas. El líder terminó recalcando la propuesta del gobierno a acreedores, "yo confío que los acreedores entiendan que estamos haciendo un enorme esfuerzo haciendo la oferta que hicimos—y es lo último que podemos hacer. Por favor, ayuden a salir a la Argentina de esto". 

Speakers

• Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, United States
• Andrés Gluski, Chairman, Americas Society/Council of the Americas
• Susan Segal, President and CEO, Americas Society/Council of the Americas
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Council of the Americas

The Trump administration is focused on the economic trajectory of the Western Hemisphere, but that economic prosperity depends on freedom, said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in remarks delivered as part of the 2020 Washington Conference on the Americas virtual series. Only the citizens of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela were not living under democratic administrations but, he said, “We’re working to change those outliers,” including through multilateral coalitions such as the Lima Group and the Organization of American States. Before answering some questions from COA members, Pompeo closed by stressing the importance of strengthening U.S. business in Latin America as a way to counter the influence of China, which he warned would take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to grow its footprint in the region. The secretary also spoke about how the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), due to enter into force on July 1, will help to solidify North American trade ties. “When the dust is settled, our companies will have new clarity,” he said.

COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth opened the event and gave a preview of the 2020 WCA series. AS/COA President and CEO Susan Segal then gave opening remarks. AS/COA Board Chair Andrés Gluski moderated the event.

Speakers: 

• Angel Gurría, Secretary General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Susan Segal, President and CEO, Americas Society/Council of the Americas

Economic unrest begets social unrest, said the OECD’s Angel Gurría during the inaugural BRAVO Leadership Conversation of the new virtual series, Leadership and Transformation in Times of Crisis. “People are angry, they are pissed off. They are not happy with the status quo. Trade tensions cause uncertainty. Uncertainty is the enemy of investment. Investment is the seed of tomorrow’s growth,” he said, and the social unrest ultimately “puts democracy at risk.” Fueling the unrest in Latin America in particular, he said, is income inequality. Latin America isn’t the poorest region in the world, he said, but it is the most unequal. “If anything, what we’re seeing is a widening of this chasm that exists, which is ethically and morally wrong. It’s economically dysfunctional and politically explosive and very dangerous,” he told AS/COA’s Susan Segal. During the wide-ranging discussion, Gurría also commended Brazil for not waiting for membership—or even the accession process—to join the OECD conversation. “They’re the second cousins who are just moving into the kitchen,” he said. “That is extremely, extremely smart.”

After fielding questions from participants on inclusion and governance, sovereign debt restructuring, and public health policy among others, Gurría gave one final piece of advice. “Cooperation, cooperation, cooperation,” which he described as “exponentially” beneficial. “We’re going to have to build it,” he said of the post-COVID-19 world. “It’s not going to happen by itself.”

Speakers:

• Aurora Vergara-Figueroa, Director of the Afrodiasporic Studies Center (CEAF), Icesi University
• Thiago Amparo, Lawyer and Professor, Fundação Getúlio Vargas Law School
• Brian Winter, Editor-in-Chief, Americas Quarterly (moderator)

In this panel on racial inequality in the Americas, Aurora Vergara-Figueroa spoke about how there's a hope that George Floyd's story will help bring the requests civil society organizations have been making around police brutality against Afro-descendant Colombians to the national debate. Vergara-Figueroa also noted how the COVID-19 pandemic makes things particularly more difficult for Afro-descendants in the Americas, who tend to have less access to healthcare than others. In Rio de Janeiro, police killed 1,810 people in 2019, 80 percent of whom (during the first six months) were Afro-Brazilian, noted Brian Winter. Contrast that to the thousand people killed by police in all of the United States that year, said Thiago Amparo, who said the militarized style of policing in Brazil disproportionately affects communities in which Afro-Brazilians live. Amparo lamented the tendency of Brazilian media to only call on Black experts and commentators to talk about racial issues, but not about politics, economics, and other "general" topics, as well as the need to deepen the discussion on race in the broader society. "We need to go beyond only talking about race after a big event like George Floyd or one month of the year and mainstream the conversation," he said.