The top executives of employer organizations that are part of the Consejo de Empresarios Iberoamericanos (CEIB) and the International Organization of Employers (OIE) have signed this Tuesday in Madrid the so-called 'Declaration of Madrid', in which they call for "solid institutions, legal certainty and social dialogue" as indispensable pillars for driving economic growth and attracting investment in Ibero-America.
The text has been approved at the headquarters of the Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales (CEOE) and will be sent to the heads of State and Government in connection with the XXX Ibero-American Summit, after a meeting that brought together 29 business leaders from 22 countries in the region.
In the agreed document, business organizations emphasize that there cannot be solid societies without a robust business fabric, nor sustainable development without reliable institutions, formal employment and a real and operational social dialogue.
The Ibero-American secretary general, Andrés Allamand, has collected the declaration and, afterward, analyzed the regional economic situation. He has also advocated for strengthening the integration of the entities represented in CEIB and has committed to conveying its demands to heads of State to ensure that the voice of the private sector reaches the political agenda.
In addition, business representatives have asked for the implementation of national agreements against labor informality, supported by reducing obstacles and costs and by improving access to financing for businesses and workers.
Likewise, the attendees have proposed turning the improvement of regional competitiveness into an assessable policy, through a table of comparable indicators drawn up together with the OIE, the CEIB, the International Labour Organization (ILO), ECLAC and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Along the same lines, they have demanded "clear and predictable rules", advancing the simplification and digitalization of administrative procedures, strengthening technical-vocational training and promoting a sustainable transition compatible with the preservation of employment and the push for productive investment.
At the opening of the meeting, led by the president of the Union of Costarican Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP), Maritza Hernández Castañeda, the president of CEOE and CEIB, Antonio Garamendi, has underscored that "social dialogue is the best infrastructure that a country can have" and has reiterated that "there are no strong societies without strong businesses."
For their part, the vice president of the OIE for Latin America, Alexandre Furlan, and the general secretary of the OIE, Roberto Suárez, have highlighted the importance of preserving business autonomy in the face of public authorities.
The day has also included a colloquium with the presidents of the National Association of Entrepreneurs of Colombia (ANDI), Bruce Mac Master; of the Confederation of Production and Trade (CPC) of Chile, Susana Jiménez Schuster; and of the National Confederation of Industrial Chambers of the United Mexican States (CONCAMIN), Alejandro Malagón. In addition, the professor at IESE Business School Jordi Gual has delivered a presentation focused on institutional trust.