Jaime Gilinski (Cali, 1957), the second largest fortune in Colombia and an investor in all kinds of sectors, from banking (he was the majority shareholder in Banc Sabadell) to tourism, industry, real estate and more, receives the award from the hands of the King Enrique V. Iglesias 2022 for his promotion of the Ibero-American business space. He takes the opportunity to ask for "time" to assess what the renewed wave of leftist governments that floods Latin America entails.
They reward him for his contribution to Ibero-American business relations, although Latin America, in an outstanding proportion, already looks to the US, and, in recent years, China has entered with force. Is it a threat or an opportunity?
With Spain and Portugal we have in common not only the language: they are our way of entering the European market. That is why the relationship must continue and will surely grow. Then there is investment from the US and China and, in the case of Colombia, also a lot of European investment, for example from France. We have diversification. It is something that happens all over the world. And the opportunities in our markets are still very great.
Has the European presence and influence been diluted?
In the last ten years, investments have grown. The pandemic has affected everyone, but in the last twelve months we have once again seen interest in investing in our markets from Europe. It is somewhat cyclical. In addition, there are also Latin American companies that are beginning to look towards Europe and, in particular, Spain.
Given the delicate European context of war, energy crisis, high inflation, the threat of a recession..., what does Latin America contribute? The energy sources that are so needed and for which there is already a global battle?
Yes, investments must continue to be made, supporting Europe in its energy needs in the coming years can become an opportunity. Until that capacity is generated, there will be a difficult situation, but in Europe and especially in Spain there are companies in the sector with a lot of technology and the ability to carry it forward.
Should investments come from those who need them or is it something that should arise from the interest of Latin American governments and/or companies?
It is the combination of the two, because they must be profitable operations and that takes a while.
Disunity, mistrust, even disputes between governments are recurrent in the region. Play against?
Consensus has been appearing. Colombia and Venezuela are opening their borders, something that has not happened for years, and this is a great opportunity for Colombia in various products, including gas, for example. This situation should also occur in other countries.
On the continent, changes of government of the same political tendency are accumulating again. A few years ago they were mostly right-wing. And now they are on the left. Argentina or Mexico have been joined by Peru, Chile, Colombia... waiting for what happens in Brazil this Sunday. Is there mistrust among the business community? Or is he optimistic?
There have been many who have had doubts about the change that has taken place in Colombia and in other countries, but I think that, in the end, ours are solid countries with a growing young population. If the entrepreneur looks to provide opportunities in the medium and long term by investing, growing and contributing to society, we are going to generate not only well-being in society but also in business, so I think we have to be realistic optimists.
Having seen the cases of interventionism and nationalization years ago, for example in Argentina, with affected Spanish interests, are you afraid that this could happen again in more countries?
I believe that there has been fear in recent months, not only in Colombia, but in the vast majority of countries where there have been changes of government, but, from my personal experience, I believe that we have to be patient.
There has even been talk of a Petro clause in the contracts in case, if he won, as has already happened, he applied measures against private property, following, for example, in the wake of Venezuela.
I don't think the situation in Colombia is like that in Venezuela. The government is just getting started and establishing some changes, but from the economy we must be patient and see what happens; try to be open in the way of thinking. Hopefully governments do everything possible to build trust, which is key to investing. In the end, the goal is for there to be more and better jobs. The Colombian government has given signs that it wants to make some changes, but I feel that legal certainty is something that has not been touched and I hope it will not be touched because it is the fundamental basis of trust.
The executive before Petro experienced important social protests. Can they repeat with him?
Is there. There is a part of the population that has had a very complex situation that increased with the pandemic. Much of it is a youth problem; They were largely the ones who started them and with them they ask for the opportunity to work, study and feed their families, which is totally healthy and logical. We have to wait. When in Colombia we look at the economic growth that the country had last year we see that it was above 10%, very important. It is estimated that this year it will close around 7%. For 2023 it is expected to be less and that worries me, because if the economy does not grow, investments are not there or decrease and all this generates a lack of opportunities.
What role can Spain play in the region?
Spain has always played a very important role in supporting the democracies of the region and, additionally, the Spanish business community has been very important in identifying opportunities, investing and supporting various sectors. That must go on. In the specific case of Colombia, in the energy sector, agriculture in the high Colombian plain -one of the largest pantries in the world today still undeveloped-, or in tourism.
Do the controversies between some Latin American countries and Spain over the common past, colonization, etc., condition?
With the new government in Colombia, the Colombia-Spain relationship will continue to grow. If you look at other countries in Latin America, each one is undoubtedly different, but I think that, as a whole, the relationship is and has been very strong and I am sure it will continue.
