Regarding Labor Day… And Entrepreneur’s Day?

This column is special, it has to do with the workers’ celebration I begin by congratulating the worker, for his daily work that helps to build a better country, with his effort. But, as I always do on this date, I also want to congratulate the businessman, because, if we start to think dispassionately, just like the worker, the businessman is a human being who gives his all every day to forge a better country.

Therefore, in the absence of a “Entrepreneur’s Day”, every May Day both should be congratulated, seeing the employer and the worker as a “biunivocal and virtuous reality”.

I make this prologue because every May 1st is meaningful to me, Well, 36 years ago my first day of work was a holiday, a May Day. Having been hired on April 30, 1987, by the recently created Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (IBCE), this allowed me, in a long walk, to appraise the effort of workers and employers, who work the same or more.

I always say that when a worker goes to the factory, office, store or where he provides his services, he does so worrying about his family, but having been in charge of an institution for so many years now, I have realized the enormous weight that being businessman, since when he goes to his factory, office, business or place of provision of services, he must not only think of his family but also of all the families of his dependents and, believe me, that takes away sleep; without going any further, I conceived this column at 1:30 am when I woke up… thinking about the IBCE!

Therefore, on “Labor Day”, my tribute to the workers like businessmenSince, ultimately, like it or not, both are workers…

I said at the beginning that this is a special column, because not only was my first day of work a holiday, but also because I well remember the telephone call from Lic. Francisco Javier Terceros Suárez, who would be my first General Manager, early in the morning, informing me that there were three candidates left from the merit contest and that the Board of Directors had decided that I should be the one hired for the position of Head of the IBCE Promotion Department.

I confess that I did not expect it, being a 24-year-old boy, recently graduated from the Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University, without experience or a bombastic last name, the choice, more than my credits, I attribute it to God, because everything comes from Him the good.

And I say “good”, because these 36 years of service to my beloved institution (although I am already in the final stretch) have given me a lot of satisfaction, such as visiting twenty countries for international trade negotiations, as well as cultivating unforgettable friendships. in the public and private sector.

I think I will write a book about the anecdotes, circumstantial hardships, fears, ideals, achievements and dreams yet to come true, as well as the invaluable teachings of my first General Manager that marked my life; or, the unforgettable occurrences and good humor of my second General Manager, Lic. Carlos Roca Leigue; In addition, the full support of the Directors and Advisors of this much-loved institution!

I remember, for example, Mr. Cristóbal Roda Vaca, who, at only 29 years of age, was the first President of the IBCE; by the way, 37 years later, on May 3, 2023, a Millennial, Mr. Alan Camhi Rozenman, takes over the reins of the Institute; I know that, just as our first young President did well, God willing it will go well for us, too, with the second youngest President in the history of IBCE.

36 years of work are not few And although I do not deny that I no longer have the vitality of my early years, those who know me well know that my enthusiasm has not diminished, rather, my faith has grown that, with a Productive Social Pact, Bolivia, based on freedom, individuality, competition, cooperativism and integration into the world, can achieve its development. Every day I do my best to see this in a few more years: I know not only that it is possible, but also that it is urgent and necessary to fight against poverty. I say this knowingly, because, as a 6-year-old migrant to this Department from my native Cochabamba, I attest that, just as Santa Cruz achieved it with great effort, likewise “the other possible Bolivia” will be possible…

What great love and gratitude I have had for IBCE that, in just over three and a half decades, I only took 7 full vacations: the first in 1991, when I married Jannet Velasco; the second in 1992, when I underwent surgery to remove a 2 kg cyst; the third in 1994, when my firstborn Christian Alexis was born; the fourth in 1995, when our beloved Miguel Ángel was born; the fifth in 2020, when I almost left this world due to Covid-19; the sixth last year, due to costal herpes zoster that confined me to bed for a month and a half; and, this year, the seventh, in bed for more than two months due to a spinal problem. I thank God for what I’ve been through and because… I’m still alive!!!

Why do I tell all this? Because I have the privilege of being a worker at the same time and someone who runs an institution with a business sense, which has led me to realize that both the one and the other -worker and businessman- are important, hence they should never confront each other, rather, fight hand in hand for a better Bolivia for our children and our children’s children. Happy Labor Day to all who give their best for our Bolivia!!!

* Gary Anthony Rodríguez Álvarez is an economist and has a master’s degree in international trade