In January 2019, just over a year before the arrival of the covid-19 pandemic, Jorge Hernando Pedraza was elected as secretary general of the Andean Community (CAN), a regional integration organization made up of Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.
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In the speech he gave after his appointment, this 59-year-old Colombian assured that he would work with the countries “to reposition the Andean Community as the first regional integration organization with continental leadership.”
Three years later, with a pandemic on top and an international conflict (between Russia and Ukraine), Pedraza, who has a long history in Colombian politics as a deputy, councilor, representative to the Chamber and senator of the Republic, points out that the goal that was proposed from day one in office and fulfilled it, despite the social and economic havoc of recent months.
In an interview with EL TIEMPO, the Secretary General of the CAN talks about trade strategies for the region, what is to come in the coming years in terms of cooperation with a majority of leftist governments in the Andean countries, and achievements such as the first Colombian for 17 years in this position.
How do you rate your work at the CAN?
In 2019 I received the General Secretariat of the Andean Community and since then we began a dynamic task of modernization, of bringing the CAN closer to the Andean citizen, of updating both institutional and normative, and a lot of staging, telling people in the region all the achievements we have had throughout these 53 years of the institution.
Did you achieve what you set out to do that first day as secretary?
Everything I mentioned above has allowed us to consolidate and position ourselves in such a way that today the CAN is the most solid international organization in Latin America, definitely. This, working on a series of decisions that are the norms that we issue for the four countries, of a supranational and immediate nature. Many of these regulations are state-of-the-art and arise precisely from the pandemic, a painful moment for humanity, but which we managed to turn into an opportunity.
One of these recent decisions is the ‘Caminos Andinos’ initiative
That’s how it is. ‘Andean roads’ It is an approved initiative with which we seek for tourism to become an element that immediately helps in the positive impact of the recovery of our economies hit by the economic effects of covid-19, the war in Europe and other factors. . The Ecuadorian president, Guillermo Lasso, who currently holds the pro tempore presidency of the CAN, promoted the campaign that also seeks to claim and add hundreds of tourist destinations to those we already know.
They also approved a user protection regulation. What is it about?
Caminos Andinos’ is an initiative with which we seek for tourism to become an element that immediately helps in the positive impact of the recovery of our economies.
This extremely important instrument, which we have just approved, is a safeguard for telecommunications users. Every day we have the pressure of advertising that we are not asking for on our devices, the intrusion of calls and they are entering our lives in most cases in a non-consensual way.
For this reason, the new statute defends the protection of personal data through new obligations of the operators, who will have to follow a series of behaviors that guarantee the respect and tranquility of the users. If they do not comply, they will be investigated by national agencies. In the case of Colombia, they will be the Communications Regulation Commission and the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce.
How is the Andean Community in terms of trade and exports?
Figures speak for us much more than words. Last year we grew by 42.1 percent from the previous year. In other words, while in 2020 we exported 95.6 billion dollars to the world, in 2021 we will export 136.7 billion dollars. In turn, we have increased our inter-community exports from 6,500 to 9,700 million dollars, which means a great strength and consolidation of our economies.
For the first time in history, China became the main export destination of the CAN.
Yes, of those 136.7 billion dollars, China was left with 19.8 percent for the first time in history, surpassing the United States, traditionally our first commercial destination, which had 18.5 percent. Then it was the European Union, with 11.9 percent. This means that there is an evolution in trends and markets. Consumers change, forms of consumption change, in such a way that we continue with a growing market and that generates great enthusiasm for us.
The main trading partner of CAN members is now China.
Juan B. Diaz. Archive THE TIME
How to combat problems like inflation?
All the measures that we have taken to modernize and update the Andean Community have prepared us for a time like the present, entering such a high wave of inflation, a process that is going to make it difficult for us when it comes to buying food. It turns out, however, that we are major food producers and we are working to turn the CAN into a food power on the planet. We have the food to give to the world.
To promote this, we have worked on technological initiatives to protect our crops, such as bananas, from threats such as physarium fungus. We are world leaders in the banana trade, we export up to 6,500 million dollars a year, so we take preventive actions in order to have an organization that is on par with Latin America: current, modern, attractive, dynamic and with results .
There is also a political uncertainty after the triumph of Gustavo Petro as president in Colombia. How will this affect the CAN?
![Petro's Possession](https://www.eltiempo.com/images/1x1.png)
Among the functions of the secretary general of the CAN is not to give an opinion on politics, but what I can say is that the organization does not follow ideological criteria in its course, but regional integration and improvement of the quality of life.
Since my arrival in 2019 I have worked with the four countries and in all of them there have been changes of presidents. The forward working conditions are the same (with Petro).
We work in harmony with the governments that govern our peoples because that is the duty of the CAN: to be a facilitator of actions that generate achievements for the benefit of our peoples. In these three and a half years, I have already turned around, rotating the presidency pro tempore each year, in such a way that always and under all conditions, regardless of the ruler of the CAN, the General Secretariat has the obligation to be an efficient collaboration support and effective for all the initiatives of our presidents.
Can we wait for the presidents of the Andean Community in the presidential inauguration?
Of course. The attendance of Pedro Castillo (Peru), Luis Arce (Bolivia) and Guillermo Lasso (Ecuador) has already been announced. I also received the invitation to be at the inauguration acts to represent the CAN with a message of solidarity and support for the actions of your government.
He had very difficult years during his tenure that ends next year. How does the General Secretariat of the CAN leave his successor or successor?
We are going through a very consistent process of recovering economic growth. Of course, we are not the exception in the world of the blow that generated an unprecedented pandemic in all aspects of health, sanitation and all its economic effects.
However, we have created standards that, through digital transformation, facilitate actions, which has allowed us to be more competitive at the end of the day. Every day that dawns there are new tasks to do with the aim of continuing to be the vehicle to give so many benefits and that, of course, will continue in the institution. People pass and institutions remain. As simple as that.
DIEGO STACEY SALAZAR
International Writing
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