The 12th Nautical Congress starts to the rhythm of chirigota

More than 400 professionals from the national nautical sector gathered this Thursday, March 13, at the Edgar Neville Auditorium in Málaga, to discuss the present and future of the industry at the 12th Nautical Congress organized by the National Association of Nautical Companies.

The presenter and journalist Quico Taronji is once again in charge of leading this relaxed two-day event, "each year we resume it with more energy and strength," he commented at the start of the congress, giving way to the institutional welcome given by the president of the Provincial Council of Málaga, José Francisco Salado, who wanted to highlight the great impact of the Nautical Congress "it has become the reference meeting for the nautical community, to boost the industry and debate about the challenges and opportunities facing the sector," he assured. In fact, this is an industry that is being promoted by the Provincial Council of Málaga through the project "Blue Path." "Blue tourism is a source of wealth both directly and indirectly for the Blue Coast, and we are betting on a nautical sector with high potential, promoting regattas, bringing the sea closer to municipalities where there are no sports ports or conducting studies to replant our seabeds with posidonia, among other projects," he explained.

Rocío Díaz, councillor for Development, Territorial Articulation, and Housing of the Junta de Andalucía, also emphasized the role of Málaga and the Andalusian community in general in the national nautical sector. "The ports are hallmarks of our cities, meeting points among our neighbors, and from the government, we work so that the Andalusian ports reach a level of excellence in line with our community," she assured, emphasizing that the ports have to be more competitive but also more sustainable "because we believe that one thing must be linked to the other."

The first of the presentations was given by Toni Roldán, director of the Center for Economic Policies of ESADE, and was about 'The economy of 2025 between the storm and the rainbow, navigating in an uncertain time.' "Unfortunately, I am not going to bring good news," he warned right at the start. At that point, he reviewed "the liberal order based on rules that have governed for the last 80 years, committed to democratic values and trade openness, and supported by solid multilateral institutions like the UN and the WTO and on American military supremacy, crystallized in NATO and which guaranteed respect for territorial sovereignty."

This model has led, according to his analysis, to the "best moment in terms of economic and social progress recorded in history. However, since the financial crisis of 2008, this model has started to crack," he lamented. "At the same time, the massive incorporation of China into the international markets has caused imbalances and deindustrialization in the West, while the Asian giant has positioned itself as the undisputed leader in several green technologies and strategic raw materials. All this, coupled with the recent shocks of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, has led to a rise in populism," he observed.

According to the recent competitiveness report by Mario Draghi, "real per capita disposable income has grown almost twice as much in the U.S. as in the EU since 2000. This is largely due to Europe's delay in the technology sector, a trend that continues with the AI revolution," he analyzed.

In summary, "the global paradigm that underpinned the European growth model, based on cheap goods from China, cheap energy from Russia, and cheap security from the U.S., is fading. This is added to the European demographic crisis, which will reduce economic growth," he warned.

This panorama requires radical reforms to increase productivity, according to Draghi. Firstly, the full implementation of the single market involves gaining scale for companies and investments and reducing the regulatory burden. Also, 5 percentage points of GDP must be invested in public goods related to knowledge, infrastructure, and security. And finally, improving the governance of the EU to allow those countries that want to advance to do so faster, to the detriment of the community method.

"All this was valid until a month and a half ago, but Trump's emergence has disrupted everything, causing the greatest transatlantic crisis in 80 years, promoting the withdrawal of support for Ukraine, the biggest tariff increase since World War II, the abandonment of multilateral institutions, and territorial expansion," Roldán added.

The advent of this "post-American era is having political effects in Europe, with a new bolder and more aggressive leadership by Germany, a new strategic alliance with the United Kingdom after Brexit, and a foreseeable historic leap in the integration of European security and defense.

In this scenario, "Spain is doing well, with positive short-term data on employment, growth, inflation, and the labor market," Roldán assured, warning that "we have a very important productivity challenge ahead of us. We have grown a lot by adding people, rather than increasing productivity. Additionally, we suffer from fiscal imbalances and growing pressure from structural spending," he analyzed.

Next, there was a motivational act by the Sevillian chirigota 'Los enganchaos,' which offered a show full of humor and energy with hilarious songs about the addiction to crossfit, sofa naps, and a tribute to a chihuahua dog. Undoubtedly a musical and comedic explosion that added a fun touch to the day.