Economic crisis has spread across many countries in Europe, and Spain is no exception to the situation.
Spanish ambassador to the US, Ramón Gil-Casares spoke to students Thursday, giving details about how Spain entered into its economic crisis, what the country is experiencing now and how it plans to get out of it.
Gil-Casares said that Spain isn’t typically one to settle for serving as a bad example, but he advised the US not to make the same political mistakes Spain has.
“I’m bit ashamed to say that Spain gives lessons to any other country, least of all the U.S., which is the big power,” Gil-Casares said. “But maybe (the United States) doesn’t go into the same policies of complacency as we have had in Spain.”
Gil-Casares said two things are key in helping Spain rise out of the crisis: the help of the Central European Bank, and economic reforms using the Euro to establish a new currency framework.
Professor Jill Knapp, a part-time geography professor at BYU, said the lecture given by Gil-Casares provided students with a good insider view to Spain’s current crisis.
“I really like that he gave an insider’s view to some of the interesting things that are going on in Spain,” Knapp said. “Not just with the economy, but with the separatist region of Cataluña, for instance — and it gave you a feel for … the Spanish view on all of those things.”
Gil-Casares said Spain is progressing toward a better economy.
“The progress, although slow, has been there,” Gil-Casares said. “Countries are reforming, and institutions are beginning to work.”
To view the lecture given by Ambassador Gil-Casares, visit http://kennedy.byu.edu/archive.
