The Spanish, the great strength of rapprochement between Spain and Latin America

USPA NEWS - "Latin America is entering a different cycle, a cycle of transition and adjustment," but the situation now is different from what was 20 or 30 years ago. And part of its strength is the language, whose unit is debated on Thursday and Friday in the cradle of Spanish.

The Director Europe Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), Guillermo Fernandez de Soto, admitted Thursday in Logrono, the capital of La Rioja, in Spain, where the Spanish language was born, that the Latin American subcontinent has slowed its growth, although he was not worried because "the region has made the task both politically and economically," and that has allowed "thousands of citizens out of poverty."

Fernandez de Soto spoke at the inauguration of the conference Future in Spanish held until Friday and in its morning session with the participation of writer, literary critic, journalist and Chilean diplomat Jorge Edwards. The Cervantes Prize for Literature 1999 also considers that the Spanish language "is one gorgeous huge health" as "a very intelligent result of human action."

In the same vein Mariano Vivancos, general secretary of the International University of La Rioja (UNIR its Spanish acronym), who highlighted the "power of language" and "transformative force for change" was expressed. The UNIR works in the spread of Spanish in universities, but all participants agreed to stress the importance of the Spanish language as a bridge between Spain and Latin America.

"The Iberoamerican has an undeniable value," said Guillermo Fernandez de Soto. CAF Director defended European integration among Latino communities because "it is not a luxury but a necessity" related to social and economic development. The Spanish language has a role in this: to be the third language in the world after English and Chinese, will soon be 1,300 million Spanish speakers and Spanish is the second language in the world. In the US, over the next decade 50 million Spanish speakers will be achieved, according to experts.

That importance and future prospects was born five years ago the forum Future in Spanish, organized by the Vocento Foundation, through the newspaper La Rioja of Logrono, and the Development Bank of Latin America, sponsored by the Government of La Rioja, the City of Logrono, the UNIR, the multinational energy Iberdrola, Ramondin, Bankia and Cocinas.com, and with the collaboration of the Garcia Marquez Foundation for New Latin American Journalism (FNPI).