Leonel Fernández Warns About Consequences of Keeping Financial System Deregulated as Proposed by Trump

The president of GFDD/Funglode and president of the EU-LAC Foundation, Dr. Leonel Fernández, has called the potential consequences of keeping the global financial system deregulated, as suggested by US president-elect Donald Trump, “worrying.”

In that regard, Fernández, former president of the Dominican Republic, stated that “an deregulated financial system and shadow banking have become the hegemonic sector of the global
economy,” which, he said, has prompted huge distortions in food and energy markets as well as other important segments of the global economy.

Fernández made reference to the commitment agreed upon at the EU-CELAC summit held in Brussels in 2015, where both parties agreed to work for a new international financial architecture with regulations to reduce systemic risk.

The former head of state deemed it highly disconcerting that the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, suggested during his campaign and has insisted after his election that the deregulated status of the global financial system should be maintained.

“We’ll have to see how we in Europe and Latin America come to an agreement to make
the new US administration see that continuing on the path of global financial deregulation will lead us toward catastrophe,” stated the renowned Latin American regional mediator.

He underscored that Trump’s announcement represents a great opportunity for Europe and Latin America to act forcefully to forestall the next economic and social crash that could be approaching as a result of the policy of financial deregulation.

The
intellectual and political leader made the comments during a lecture entitled “Europe–Latin America and the Caribbean: Strategic Association or Gradual Estrangement?”, held as part of a Forum of Reflexion on relations between the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), sponsored by the EU-LAC Foundation.

Likewise, he maintained that by undertaking the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, both regions face the
challenge of carrying out a joint fight to eradicate poverty, confront hunger, and guarantee quality education as well as access to health and social security, infrastructure construction, and renewable energy.

“I believe that with this agenda we all feel enthusiastic, motivated, and hopeful that in this strategic European–Latin American and Caribbean alliance, there will be a better future for all humanity,” he stated.

The
three-time Dominican president’s lecture took place at the Iberoamerican Institute of Berlin, a scientific research and cultural exchange center that focuses on the interdisciplinary study of the geographic areas of Latin America, Spain, Portugal, and the Caribbean.

As part of his Berlin agenda, Fernández attended work meetings both with Germany’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, María Böhmer, and with ambassadors accredited before the
European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), with whom he addressed issues related to relations and cooperation between Latin America and the European Union.

Related Link: http://leonelfernandez.com/noticias/