Multilatinas, as their etymology suggests, are companies of Latin American origin. Although its definition covers a great deal of heterogeneity, the definition could change due to the development itself and increasing regional and international spread.
In general, Multilatinas have one common characteristic: they were founded as a family business. Currently the majority is controlled by families or family groups. And many have a long history of leadership that has led them to exercise it first in their respective countries and later across the region.
The best example of Multilatinas is the expansion of Spanish multinational companies (which I have been analyzing and observing since the beginning of their internationalization process), which took advantage of the good economic moment with the incorporation of Spain into the European Union to initially internationalize. in Latin America, later becoming global multinational corporations. Since then, an intense change has taken place in terms of size, organization, strategy and international orientation, which has significantly increased Spain's weight and importance in the global context.
ECLAC identifies Multilatinas with the internationalization of Latin American capital and the prosperity that many of these companies have experienced in recent decades, which is the result of factors related to the reforms that some countries in the region implemented after the lost decade of 1980 from its meager 1.1% growth, which was defined as the worst result of the entire post-war period.
It was from the 1990s, known as the Decade of Hope as opposed to the lost 80s, that Multilatinas expanded in the region and began to compete openly with multinational companies in a wide variety of sectors, allowing them to expand their skills to put to the test management skills, their organizational and productive skills and their economic strengths that give them added value in the regional panorama, with a component of novelty: they are great drivers of investment, wealth and prosperity. Consequently, they are constantly evolving, expanding their boundaries and broadening their horizons.
To successfully and reliably face the hypercompetitive markets, Multilatinas promote and accelerate regional and international expansion, for which they must dominate the digital ecosystem, ranging from nanotechnology, biotechnology, new materials and data analysis to robotics, artificial intelligence and blockchain systems suffices. agile methodology or advanced 3D printing in manufacturing.
In this dynamic it is clear that Multilatinas represent the business vanguard, meaning that they have the knowledge, technology and innovation that significantly improve competitiveness, essentially a consequence of productivity that increases per capita income possible. capital of the countries. This is where the debate begins about whether the state should support companies like Multilatinas with public measures to support international expansion as comprehensively as possible.
From a broad perspective, Multilatinas must position themselves successfully in the global economy, because if they do not achieve this, they will most likely not occupy the place that truly suits them on the international stage and, moreover, they will not be protagonists of the new era of the fourth industrial Revolution.
Therefore, Multilatinas must continue their international expansion and for this there is nothing better and cheaper than taking advantage of all the advantages that Spain offers them as a “natural market”, given the historical, linguistic and cultural links, a very important network of economic, commercial and financial relationships , which is largely created by the Spanish companies present in the Latin American markets.
This bidirectional “round trip”, i.e. traveling in both directions, makes a lot of sense. It is obvious that Spanish companies have already done this towards Latin America and continue to do so. Now it is the turn of Latin American companies to undertake a vigorous expansion into Spain, which is already being widely noticed with the arrival of Multilatinas. An increasingly intense arrival, led first by the Mexican Multilatinas, followed by the Brazilian and Colombians.
In terms of presence in Spain, Latin America is already the fourth largest investor, with a holding of 48,631 million euros (2021). This is the aim of the Spanish government and the regional governments, which ensure this through measures, support and framework conditions. As part of the campaign, investors and companies such as Multilatinas are continuing to expand their presence.
Investors and companies like Multilatinas will feel very comfortable in Spain, as it is the headquarters of relevant Ibero-American associations, institutions and organizations that represent Spain's commitment to becoming an operating center with positive and competitive differentiation positions, facilitating access to the markets of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Spain must assume its role as an “articulating” country to develop trade networks that increase exports, promote investments and scientific and technological capabilities in the context of important global issues such as migrations, value chains, the technological divide and climate change.
Finally, this must be pointed out Multilatinas, the new Ibero-American multinationals, represent a truly novel and successful business phenomenon in Latin America and, as already mentioned, have an important and growing presence in the Spanish economy.
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