The President of the Canary Islands Parliament, Astrid Pérez, spoke out on Wednesday in defence of the value of parliamentarianism in the face of the threat posed to European and Latin American democracies by populism, political polarisation and identity-based nationalism.
Astrid Pérez made these remarks at the opening of the 17th Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat), which is being held at the Canary Islands Parliament to mark the 20th anniversary of the creation of this forum for parliamentary dialogue between the two regions of the world.
She emphasised that, over the past two decades, Eurolat has successfully addressed issues of crucial importance to society, such as climate change, food crises, the digital challenge and trade relations, whilst highlighting that, since 2006, European and Latin American societies have faced difficult circumstances, including inflation and the pandemic, within an international context that is «certainly becoming increasingly complex».
Canary Islands Parliament: Pérez warns of a decline in democracy
«Today’s world faces the challenges posed by artificial intelligence, robotics, neuroscience and technological challenges,» continued Astrid Pérez, who emphasised that, against a backdrop of growing political challenges, it is essential for global blocs to engage in a fluid and fruitful dialogue.
«I am not revealing anything new when I say that we are living in times when political polarisation is leading to a deterioration of democracy in some countries, where the rule of law, which can only be guaranteed by a parliamentary system, is under threat,» she emphasised.
Parliamentarism is one of the great achievements of constitutional democracy that populist movements and identity-based nationalisms seek to destroy, according to the President of the Canary Islands Parliament, who believes that «when a democracy turns into an autocracy, it does not begin with a dictator, but with a breach of the principles of the rule of law».
She has therefore called for the provision of adequate means to ensure respect for the separation of powers, adding that full respect for political pluralism and judicial independence must be guaranteed, as without them there can be no rule of law.
Eurolat connects regions with a population of one billion people
During the session, a message was shared from the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, who referred to Eurolat’s work in «building bridges between our regions», something the European Parliament recognised «clearly» twenty years ago with the aim of promoting the defence of democracy, investment and progress in their respective territories.
These are regions home to more than a billion people and accounting for a fifth of the global economy, which means that together they can tackle everything from disaster relief to the development of ‚democratic‘ AI and cooperation on energy ‚with commitment, drive and enthusiasm‘, Metsola added.
Latin America: Allamand calls for consensus across the Atlantic
Andrés Allamand, Secretary-General of the Ibero-American General Secretariat, has also sent a video message in which he welcomes «the strategic alliance between the two regions, which is more necessary than ever in these turbulent times».
Allamand has called for the implementation of mechanisms for consensus and compromise between the two regions «from both sides of the Atlantic«, and pointed out that the EuroLat assembly will address issues such as mutual assistance in the event of major emergencies and cultural cooperation as an antidote to polarisation.
Madrid plans a digital alliance and a mobility charter
It is precisely on these issues that resolutions will be adopted at the Ibero-American Summit scheduled for next week in Madrid, where measures will be approved to establish a Euro-Latin American digital partnership on artificial intelligence.
A «mobility charter» will also be promoted, as a first step towards establishing a programme similar to «Erasmus» for student mobility between the EU and Latin America, Allamand added.
In his view, both regions are currently experiencing a particularly favourable period following the agreement between the EU and Mercosur and the resumption of bilateral summits, which shows that, after years of declarations, relations are beginning to «take shape» because Europeans and Latin Americans share «values, interests and a common commitment to the multilateral order».
Andrés Allamand has also expressed his satisfaction that the EuroLat assembly is being held in the Canary Islands, given that, for centuries, the islands have served as a bridge between the Americas and Europe and that the Spanish spoken there is «the most Americanised form of Spanish: there, ‚maní‘ is ‚maní‘ and ‚papas‘ are ‚papas‘, not ‚patatas'».
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