I was in London again for a business trip this week. In this day and age, you can travel from Helsinki, have a full day of meetings and be back on the same day.
Even though we may complain about how hard it is to get visas when needed, the amount of security checkpoints and the time it takes to get from one place to another, I am certainly of the opinion that the fact that we can travel over 2000 kilometres and still have a productive day is pretty much a miracle (as tired as it might get you).
One thing that I couldn’t stop noticing when I was in Barcelona was the amount of foreigners and people from other parts of Spain who call the place home (which I personally think is a good thing). Whereas before Spain used to be a point of origin of emigrants (one only has to remember the large amount of people who fled the Civil War and the resulting Franco rule) now there is plenty of people from all over the world here, which doesn’t detract from its “Spanishness”. Now, the small neighbourhood stores are operated by Chinese or Pakistanis, many waiters are Filipinos, Ecuadorians or Argentines, and I have Mexican and British acquaintances who operate IT consultancy companies there.
Even though the immigration climate doesn’t seem hostile, it’s not all rosy and fine, as anybody who’s been shouted “sudaca” in the street will tell you. I was, however, pleasantly surprised with the relative peace I found between the different communities (then again, I was not there for long).
This week I was in Barcelona in a very important trade fair. I really enjoy visiting the city, as it is beautiful, has very pleasant weather, the food is generally good (but salty) and I have many good friends living there.
One thing that always surprises me a little bit of the city is the character of the locals: Barceloneses are generally proud Catalonians who have their own language and customs different to the rest of Spain (or, as they say, FC Barcelona is more than a club for a slightly less than a country).
Regardless, visit it when you have a chance, just don’t do it when there is a trade fair as the place will be absolutely full.
Cuando me subí al avión a Londres Heathrow, me encontré con una mujer que estaba teniendo problemas para abordar, ya que tenía tanto un bebé como la carreola de éste y no se daba abasto. Lo que me enervó bastante es que el esposo, que estaba viajando con ella, no se dió por enterado y simplemente se subió al avión dejándola "morir sola". Como estaban viajando a México, le pregunté a la mujer a dónde iban y ella me respondió que a Veracruz, de donde es el esposo.
La actitud del hombre me pareció espantosa, ya que si fué lo suficientemente machito para traer un bebé al mundo, tendría que también ponerse las pilas para hacerse responsable al respecto. Qué pena.
And Heathrow is still not that great.
Quisiera compartir con ustedes, apreciados lectores, la conclusión a la que llegué después de escribir mis entradas más recientes sobre México al concluir mi viaje por allá. Por desgracia, pienso que el país parece que sigue dormido como menciona Oppenheimer en el capítulo de su libro dedicado a México. Aunque encontré bastante capacidad emprendedora, también me topé con evidencia de que el sistema político y económico está inclinado hacia la parálisis en lugar de las reformas que necesita el país. Lo más preocupante para mí fue que no noté que la actitud de la población en general haya cambiado mucho, con una mentalidad conformista francamente desalentadora.
Me parece que seguimos esperando algo, pero no sé qué. Mientras tanto, el resto de los países recientemente industrializados siguen marchando hacia adelante.
¿Queremos tomar el mando de nuestro propio destino, o no?
As a conclusion to my recent posts on Mexico given my last trip there, I have to say that the country appears to be still asleep, as Oppenheimer mentions in his book in the chapter devoted to Mexico. Even though there is entrepreneurship, I also found evidence that the political and economic system is skewed towards inaction rather than reform. Even more troubling was that I didn't see signs of change in the attitudes of the general population, with a mindset of conformism that was frankly quite disheartening.
It is like we're waiting for something, but I don't know what. In the meantime, the rest of the newly-industrialised countries are powering ahead.
Do we want to take control of our destiny, or not?
When I was still having fun and enjoying the sun, sea and sand in Cancún, I had an insight that may be good to explain the concept of added value.
Whereas the ingredients for a plate of guacamole would cost you around 15 pesos (1 EUR) if bought at the supermarket, when I ordered it at my hotel it costed more than 80 pesos (5 EUR). If we take into consideration that the different farmers got probably a few peso cents for selling the individual avocados, onions and other individual ingredients this begs the question: Why the increase?
For starters, I didn’t have to grow the crops myself. I didn’t have to go to the supermarket and buy the ingredients and I didn’t have to prepare it either. Furthermore, I was at the beach and had a very nice view.
All these extras are called added value. This is why higher profits are not in the production of raw materials, and why I think that the strategies being followed by many Latin American countries in focusing on extraction of raw materials are not right for the medium/long term.
With the current exchange rate, having expenses in US dollars or Mexican pesos and earning in euros is quite a nice value proposition. I could truly see that my money would last longer, and get more for it.
I have to say it was really nice since I already have a shopping list before arriving in the place.
Whenever you have the chance to visit Mexico, come to Oaxaca. The state capital of the same name, 6 hours away from Mexico City, is a World Heritage Site, has a long history, a strong Indian component to society and a beautiful downtown with lively markets and good food. Within 60 kms you will find plenty of towns specialising in different handicrafts, historical sites and Zapotec and Mixtec archaeological sites. Its people are very warm and the weather is also quite agreeable.
You won’t regret it.
