Núria Vilanova, in a file image.Goyo Conde
Iberoamerica is a concept in low hours. What is striking about recent Ibero-American summits is the absence of the region’s key leaders, rather than the importance of what was discussed there. Even Spain, the forums’ big promoter, doesn’t show the expansive excitement of the 1990s and early 2000s, but Núria Vilanova (Vilanova i la Geltrú, 57 years old), President of the Business Council Alliance for Ibero-America (CEAPI), believes continues to believe in the importance of attachments, at least economically. “Companies are building Iberoamerica,” he says in an interview with this newspaper via video conference.
At the last Ibero-American summit, held in Andorra amid a pandemic, the family photo was reduced to eight personalities and only two were Latin American heads of state. The background, mist-shrouded mountains, did not let one become optimistic. Vilanova, who in addition to chairing CEAPI is also the founder of communications company Atrevia, believes the idea of Iberoamerica lives in business. “Politics is splitting into blocs. Don’t do it,” he says. CEAPI, which brings together 190 business leaders, has just organized its fifth congress in the Dominican Republic.
Spain remains the second largest investor in the region after the US with an annual average of $12 trillion, although China and other European countries have picked up the pace. “Spain cannot lower its vigilance. Iberoamerica will become increasingly strategic,” says Vilanova, referring to the import of raw materials and food.
On the other hand, business relations between both sides of the Atlantic have changed. Spain used to go shopping in Latin America. Now it’s the other way around. According to a Spanish government report, Latin American investment in Spain has increased by 92% over the past decade. A good example is Spanish construction companies OHL and FCC, controlled by Mexican brothers Amodio and Carlos Slim, respectively.
Vilanova believes that Latin American investments in Spain will continue to grow. “Usually it always starts with the closest countries, but this dynamic is spreading and the landing of companies from America has been very interesting. They don’t invest in Spain to stay there, they use it as a globalization platform,” he assures. “Growing up in Ibero-America gives you the drive. Spain has good grades to go out into the world from.”
In Latin America, as Latin American companies turn to Spain, some of the Spanish multinationals that led the landing decades ago are now facing the erosion of their image. In Peru, Repsol is embroiled in controversy after a ship sunk 11,900 barrels of crude oil while being unloaded at a refinery owned by the multinational in January. In Mexico, Iberdrola has just been fined around $466 million by the government for violating the sector’s law, a penalty that will be heard in court. “Mexico is no longer a land of conquest,” said Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador several times.
Despite these problems, Vilanova believes Spanish companies have learned a lot since arriving several decades ago. “It was different 40 years ago. I’ve seen cases where they removed a manager who might not have been the person who understood the culture best, but it improved from there,” he says. “Now there is much more knowledge than before. Mexico will not find a country that knows, appreciates and respects it like Spain. Mexican businessmen know it; They are very aware that they will be welcomed with open arms.”
The profile of Spanish companies has also changed, says Vilanova. “Many of the companies that started internationalizing were utilities, offering a service that was considered public, such as electricity or telephony. I think that could create a conflict that doesn’t exist today because, for example, you can choose which phone company to use,” he says. In any case, the businesswoman downplays the importance of the nationality of the companies: “There are fewer and fewer Spanish or Mexican companies. We are already a multi-Ibero-American company”.
Speaking of relations with governments, Núria Vilanova mentions a business “concern” about the region’s shift to the left, illustrated by the election of progressive leader Gustavo Petro as Colombia’s next president. “The composition of the cabinets will be crucial so that there are people who understand how companies can be the best allies of societal change. Governments can be left or right; The key is that they understand the business world and know how to create dialogue and trust,” he assures. “For a businessman to invest in a country, he has to believe in it to see that there is legal certainty.”
Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS México newsletter and receive all the informative keys on current affairs in this country