The president of the Generalitat organized an agenda for the nine-day visit to Latin America, which, although ambitious, has not quite worked out well.
On the 15th, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Meritxell Serret, Pere Aragonès had planned a meeting with the vice-president of Uruguay, Beatriz Argimón, who is also the president of the General Assembly and the Senate. It was not done after the vice president's constant agenda changes. Yes, he was seen, however, with the former president of the country, José Mujica. Earlier, in Colombia, where he strengthened cooperation, President Gustavo Petro had to cancel the meeting with Aragonès a couple of hours earlier due to conflicts in the Cauca region.
It was to be the first bilateral meeting between the head of the Catalan Government and an international head of state. The president of the Generalitat will finish his trip to Chile.
All in all, and among the appointments he has had so far, the ones with the Minister of Foreign Relations, Álvaro Leyva, and with the head of the Treasury, José Antonio Ocampo, stand out. Just yesterday he met with the governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof. They signed a cooperation agreement to encourage collaboration in areas such as professional training, cultural industries, science, technology, research and innovation, among others. Kicillof is considered a key figure in the Kirchnerist and Peronist space in the run-up to the next presidential elections. He is part of Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's circle of trust.
When Aragonès won the presidency in May 2021, he proposed to redo the international agenda that was damaged with the governments of Carles Puigdemont and Quim Torra. In July 2022, he met the vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, at the Palau de la Generalitat. It was necessary to go until 2011, with Artur Mas as president, to find a visit by an official of the same rank to Palau. In October, Aragonès traveled to Brussels to hold two meetings with two European commissioners, the one for Justice, Didier Reynders, and the one for Internal Market, Thierry Breton.
Despite everything, the recent trip to Ireland and the one now in Latin America are not being so successful.
