Something is moving in the Catalan economic world. Employers and different economic entities are promoting in recent weeks meetings to agree on essential issues for the country, as confirmed by sources familiar with this initiative. Among them stands out, for example, the expansion of Barcelona airport.
All this has materialized in meetings fleeing from the media spotlights. Some of these meetings of this group informally baptized as the G-8, although the number of members is greater, recently took place with a dinner in which the highest representatives of the employers participated. Workforce Development Y Pimecas well as entities such as Global Barcelonathe Circle of Economythe RACCthe Col.legi d’Economistes, femcatthe Barcelona Chamber of Commerce wave fairas confirmed by some of the sources consulted.
The achievement of the Copa América in 2024 in Barcelona, promoted by Barcelona Global and joined by institutions and entities, has changed the mood of the Catalan economic world and pushed to seek consensus to achieve great goals for the country. “Yes, it is true that a climate or environment has been imposed in recent times that pushes the search for consensus on issues considered essential,” says some of the sources consulted.
One of them is the expansion of Barcelona airport, a project lost at the moment due to the disagreement between the Government and the central Executive. The latest data released this week on the low execution of State investment could also be part of the debate.
relays
In some of these entities there will be changes in their leadership, but the objective will surely be maintained, since, as a whole, all the organizations defend consensus on essential issues. This is the case of the Cercle d’Economia. On July 12, two candidates will fight at the polls, for the first time in 64 years, led by the economist and businesswoman Pink Canadas; and the former CEO of Banc Sabadell, James Guardiola. The pre-election struggle, in fact, has already begun with telephone campaigns and the forecast of holding events aimed at the around 1,300 members of this select club which, in any case, has a great capacity for influence, although there are those who affirm that it has lost a part.
There will also be a transfer of witness to Barcelona Global, an organization whose assembly in the coming days is expected to see Aurora Catà, who is credited with much of the success of winning the Copa América, be relieved by Maite Barrerafounder and CEO of the financial consultancy bluecap and member of the executive committee of Globant.
In the Col.legi d’Economistes, the relays have already taken place recently, with Carles Puig de Travy, CEO of Crowe as dean, who replaced Oriol Amat; or in Femcat, chaired by David MarinCEO of Inaccés Geotècnica Vertical, who received the witness last January from Elena Massot, CEO of Vertix.
The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, with a pro-independence majority, but whose president, Monica Rocais more prone to understanding with other entities and institutions than his predecessor Joan Canadel, currently a deputy for Junts per Catalunya.
run away from the spotlight
The idea, for now, is to avoid the media impact such as the one that led to the protest at the old Estació del Nord in Barcelona with a unanimous clamor with the slogan: “Ja n’hi ha prou, focus-nos en la recuperació” (Basta Now, let’s focus on recovery.) It was a movement that was formed to protest against the political tension that was dragging Catalonia and in favor of “dialogue” and “consensus” to work for a quick and painless way out of the crisis caused by the pandemic. The Chamber of Commerce already participated in that event, demonstrating a first approach to the rest of the economic entities.
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The Copa América has turned out to be a shock that has shown that great goals can be achieved if you work together, according to the sources consulted. The idea is that in this movement there are no protagonists or individualism, but that the initiatives or projects that are proposed are carried out jointly and by consensus, according to the same sources.
The truth is that of the complaints of decay a few years ago, a somewhat more positive discourse has been adopted. It was summed up by the current president of the Cercle, Javier Fauswho in the last annual meeting of this organization wanted to bury the image of decline but conveyed that growth in Catalonia in recent years is “in quantity but not in quality & rdquor; and asked that the Administrations be aligned to “recover economic leadership & rdquor It is something that Foment also calls for, which presented the mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau with a catalog of proposals aimed at recovering the Barcelona of “ambition and courage” for large projects.