The Hispanic politician participates at the Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ) in a debate on a new development model for the Puebla Group region, an alliance made up of progressive leaders from 16 Latin American and European countries.
During his speech, the former Iberian ruler spoke about the origins of inequality in the world and how, along with equality, it is one of the vertical issues of revolutions.
“Without freedom we cannot think of equality” and vice versa, said the politician, who considered that both conditions are pillars of any democratic project.
He called for studying and delving into the process of colonialism and slavery to understand history because “memory is part of the truth.”
He warned that behind inequality lies power and discrimination and, in this sense, the greatest segregation that was applied was against women.
The history of humanity “would be different if women had written it,” said Rodríguez Zapatero.
Among other initiatives, he considered that, in order to eliminate inequality, it is necessary to reduce job insecurity, “to have a decent salary.”
He alluded to the conflict in Ukraine and invited a global constituent debate to take place after it ends.
Before his speech, the greeting of the executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Alicia Bárcena, who will leave office next Thursday, was heard in the auditorium, via video. In her brief harangue, Bárcena urged the Puebla Group to build alternative roads and structural change in the region under a progressive project.
Also on the day, former Colombian President Ernesto Samper invited to change the political, economic and social model of Latin America after the Covid-19 pandemic ends.
He denounced that colonialism devastated developing countries and “we were born unequal and we must think about how to overcome such a condition.”
For that, he added, a different model of development is needed, not the neoliberal one that impoverishes and sacrifices the State.
“Being Latin American is a heritage that should not be renounced,” said Samper, who insisted that regional integration must be done with people.
Until tomorrow, the meeting brings together leaders of the Puebla Group, such as Rodríguez Zapatero, Samper and former Brazilian presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff at the UERJ.
mgt/ocs
