The presidents of the Congress and the Senate, Meritxell Batet and Ander Gil, respectively, have highlighted this Monday the value of the relations between Spain and Mexico, while defending multilateralism as an «obligation», stressing that when countries weave alliances, they face challenges in a more «solid, powerful and effective» way.
Batet and Gil participated in the inauguration of the XVI Spain-Mexico Interparliamentary Meeting, which is being held during this day in the Upper House, together with the President of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies, Santiago Creel, and the President of the Political Coordination Board of the Mexican Senate, Ricardo Monreal.
In her speech, the President of the Congress has claimed «the importance and benefits for all of concerted and multilateral action in defense of shared values» in democratic societies, citing as examples the pandemic and its social and economic effects or the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with consequences in terms of security and prosperity.
«The deepening of the dialogue between our countries not only strengthens our bilateral relations but is an essential vector for the integration of two key regions for the defense of freedom and social cohesion such as Europe and Latin America», he added, before considering that «Spain and Mexico must play the role of pivots between both regions».
«The alliance between countries that share democratic values, to be stronger, better prepared and accompanied in the face of global threats that seek to destabilize our nations and our democratic systems is crucial,» he insisted, noting an «unquestionable» fact: «When democratic countries are able to reach agreements and act in a coordinated and joint manner, we never regret it. What we achieve is always more solid, more powerful and more effective in the face of the challenges we face», he said.
THE INTENSITY OF RELATIONS With regard to the interparliamentary meeting, Batet pointed out that the periodic meeting between parliaments «constitutes a fundamental pillar» in bilateral relations and an «expression of the very high degree reached in the intensity» of the same and the «depth» of the dialogue between Parliaments.
In his opinion, dialogue has «a powerful multiplier effect in the strengthening» of ties of «mutual affection and admiration». «That is the strength of parliamentary diplomacy: to incorporate parliamentary plurality in the configuration of shared views on common problems and challenges,» he said.
REAL EQUALITY Among the issues to be discussed at the interparliamentary meeting such as economic and trade cooperation, policies against climate change or the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Batet has highlighted the «challenge» of building a society in which women, «half of the population, are integrated in full equality, with security and recognition of their rights, with freedom to develop their lives autonomously».
For Batet, «gender equality is an absolute priority objective if we want our societies to be fair and, above all, fully democratic».
In this line, she highlighted some areas in which progress is needed: the wage gap and the pension gap, the gap in women’s personal security or the gap in work-life balance and personal co-responsibility».
«Achieving real and full equality is a pending revolution», she insisted, before warning that «no conquest achieved can always be taken for granted».
«The inertias of discriminatory structures are strong and offer constant resistance», which is why it is «so important to maintain momentum and vigor in the defense of equality, but also in the defense of freedoms».
For this, he has argued that «it is necessary the commitment of public policies and also the strength of the system of guarantees and protection offered by the rule of law». «In a democracy, the law is the guardian of rights and demanding compliance with the law is the instrument for freedom and equality to be real and effective,» he concluded.
BENEFITS AT ALL LEVELS For his part, Gil stressed that Spain and Mexico «understand each other» at the diplomatic, economic and political levels, affirming that relations between the two «can only improve».
Clarifying that when he speaks of «understanding» he speaks of «choice» and not of «necessity», which produces «collateral benefits» -economic, political and social-, the president of the Upper House has indicated that interparliamentary relations, although «very important», do not explain the entire bilateral relationship.
«There are also the public-private relations, those of the companies of one country in the other, those of the social and civic organizations, the NGOs of cooperation and other citizen fabric and the relations between the citizens themselves, individually,» he added.
For this reason, he encouraged both countries, of which he said they are «brothers and equals», to continue «along the path of dialogue and consensus» to reach political, economic, feminist or scientific and cultural cooperation agreements, such as those reached this year.
For Ander Gil, relations between Spain and Mexico are the «most intense» in the Ibero-American context and, since the reestablishment of diplomatic relations in 1977, «enjoy great vitality».
The President of the Senate has emphasized that, in multilateral contexts, Spain and Mexico coincide in the consensus on the future and in their view of the world and, in the framework of the interparliamentary meeting, he has valued that these meetings are «the optimal environment for the dialogue between nations».
COOPERATE IN A DECENTRALIZED WAY «I believe that this interparliamentary meeting should serve to show that bilateral cooperation and multilateralism are no longer a choice, but an obligation», he continued.
In the same way, he believes that both countries should also cooperate in a decentralized manner, giving greater prominence to other levels of government: the Spanish autonomous communities and the Mexican states, as well as their parliaments.
«There is no globality that can serve without a valid locality. Because political and economic action is spread throughout all our territories and regions, and they all deserve fair consideration», he said.
Finally, Gil thanked Mexico for welcoming thousands of republican refugees who had to flee into exile, he claimed the promotion of the Spanish language and also alluded to equality.
«All efforts to defend culture and language and all attempts at political or economic transformation will fail if we do not recognize women and do not accept the place they should occupy in the world, at all levels, including in politics,» he concluded.
