Address by the President of the Republic, Michel Temer, during the First Session of Heads of State and Government of the 26th Ibero-American Summit - Guatemala/Guatemala
Guatemala - Guatemala, 16 November 2018
Well, I want to start, President Jimmy Morales, doing what everyone else did. To salute you, of course, not only for the hospitality but, evidently, for the success I already anticipate for this Summit. And on your behalf, I would like to salute the fellow Heads of State, Heads of Government, Heads of Delegations here present.
I would also like to salute Ms. Rebeca Grynspan for the work she has done at the head of the Secretariat.
And, from the outset, thanking you, Your Excellency, President Jimmy Morales, I also wish to salute the General Secretariat, the Pro Tempore Secretariat, for organising this Summit. I also wish the President of Andorra much success at the next Summit.
And I want to follow, coincidentally, the words of Professor and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to say that, in 2019, we will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation voyage, initiated by Fernão de Magalhães. New routes, at that occasion, brought Europe closer of the Americas, and the Americas closer to Asia and Africa. It is interesting that, shared by these great voyages are two very striking features. The first of them, of course, is their Iberian origin; and [second is] their vocation to, in a fearless manner, President Marcelo, face the unknown and open new horizons.
Also here, invoking our Iberian origins, in our Brazil, I want to invoke "The Lusiads" to quickly cite what he said. He wrote: "They walked the water's vast breadth of blue / Parting the restless billows on their way / Fair favouring breezes breathed soft and true / The bellying canvas bulging in their play.” [Translation by Sir Richard Francis Burton].
This is our common heritage: always overcoming obstacles, however formidable, in the name of strengthening our ties, in the name of the pursuit of the other. This is our job. And I even mention here that, in our Constitution, Dear Presidents and Heads of State and Government, we have a constitutional rule that establishes the need for public policy that brings together all countries of Latin origin, without exception.
It is interesting that this Ibero-American meeting aims precisely at this Latin alliance among nations. And we have, in fact, I believe, carried forward an intense agenda of cooperation. Cooperation in science and technology, in the academic and cultural fields, in the exchange of experiences in public policies. That's why it's interesting that we always do it, but we should do more.
In our country, for example, we have a very important constitutional provision regarding women: our Constitutions have always stated, in affirming the principle of equality, that all are equal before the law. Now, Your Majesty King Philip of Spain, we ended up, in the 1988 Constitution, putting a different formulation there to say not only that all are equal before the law, but that men and women are equal before the law.
Therefore, the expression seems a single word, but the constitutional text has great significance because it sought, exactly and precisely, to signify the potentialities of the presence of women in Brazilian society and, of course, in global society.
And after speaking about this integration we are promoting in the various meetings that I have already attended, I say that we have, in fact, three pillars in this matter. One pillar is the economic pillar. And we have made fundamental economic reforms in Brazil. I just mention that we, within two and a half years, which is the term of our administration, we have brought inflation from almost 11% to less than 4%. We reduced the basic interest rate from 14.25% to 6.5%. And then, one can ask: "Very well, but what is the meaning of these economic acts for the most vulnerable, for the poorest?" That there is, in the first place, the increased buying power of salaries. Secondly, food does not grow spontaneously.
Therefore, this economic pillar, which brought precisely the idea of fiscal responsibility - because on this topic we set a ceiling for public spending, exactly and precisely to avoid, so to speak, policies that were not for the future, policies that depart from the trivial idea that you cannot spend more than what you raise. That is why we have managed, for example, to halt a wave of great unemployment in our country. Not only halt it, but create jobs for the most vulnerable.
That is why we maintain in our country, and I have said this very often, a programme that is not from my administration, but from previous ones, which is the so-called Bolsa Família, President Lenin. That is an assistance programme in nature that feeds almost 14 million people. And because we, what we want, is precisely social inclusion, we have created a programme called Progredir ["To Progress"], whose goal is to help the children of Bolsa Família beneficiaries to be hired by the national business community. And at this time I can say, without fear of making mistakes, that more than 240,000 young people have already been hired by the national business community. Therefore, it is an extraordinary phenomenon of inclusion.
So far I've spoken a little about the phenomenon of women and a little about the phenomenon of social inclusion, but I also want to talk about the environment, which is fundamental, particularly in view of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.
I also say, with great pride, that in the environmental sphere - and when we speak of the environment, we are talking about the protection of the inhabitants of our countries - we have practically doubled, or rather more than doubled, the size of protected areas in our country. It was not by chance, therefore, that a short while ago we hosted the World Water Forum, which brought countless Heads of State and Government to our country.
So I want to express here, President Jimmy Morales and everyone, the extraordinary satisfaction Brazil feels to attend this forum, which is precisely aimed at integration with the very opportune agenda of a thriving, inclusive and sustainable Ibero-American region. By this I mean that Brazil is contributing to this cooperation, but, as President Marcelo said, we must all be united. And you know, in fact this is something that I have preached domestically in my country, because very recently Brazil went to the polls. It went to the polls and more than 100, 120 million voters elected new governments, including the new President of the Republic.
So in Brazil, we are also conducting a very civilised, very smooth, very uneventful transition, so that the new administration can know everything that has been done in our administration, what still remains to be done. Therefore, President Jimmy Morales and all friends here present, I want to end with a message of gratitude. This is the third Ibero-American Summit I am attending, but of course this is the last time I will have the privilege of meeting several of the ladies and gentlemen here present as President of the Republic. Therefore, I leave you with my message of gratitude for the conviviality, gratitude for the dialogue and gratitude for the joint work. And with the conviction that we, together, will build a world that is increasingly fairer and more prosperous.
Thank you very much.