CofC launches new initiative to find solutions for P.R.
From left: Carlos Romero-Barceló, Antonio J. Colorado, Journalist Luis Guardiola, Heidie Calero and Antonio Fernós-Sagebién during the taping of the upcoming TV special.
Seeking to expand human capital to help push Puerto Rico forward and find new solutions that lead island residents toward a better future, the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce is launching a new initiative called “Puerto Rico is about all of us.”
This initiative seeks to share options, scenarios and effective experiences among all socio-economic sectors so that businesses, government, and academia work on viable solutions to “awaken to a new Puerto Rico,” CofC President José Vázquez-Barquet said.
“Let’s combine our talents, not only to show ourselves to the world as a beautiful island by nature, but as a very qualified one for its human resources and as one that is highly competitive in the new skills that the world demands,” he said Wednesday.
The “Puerto Rico is about all of us” initiative will deliver its message through multiple media, including a one-hour television special airing on Telemundo on April 17, at 10:30 p.m. From that day on, the professional trade group will continue unveling new economic development efforts, CofC officials said.
Participating in the project are: former governor Carlos Romero-Barceló, Antonio J. Colorado, former resident commissioner in Washington, two Economists — Heidi Calero y Antonio Fernós-Sagebién — and Entrepreneur Carlos Cobián.
“We’re facing a crisis of credibility and enforcement. But we can get out of it, by making difficult, and not political decisions,” Calero said.
Meanwhile, Fernós-Sagebién added that “the important thing is that the political class come out of denial. They tried and failed. They have to abandon the old styles and recognize that what we need to do is create jobs for everyone.”
For his part, Romero-Barceló said the formula to jumpstart the economy depends on reducing government expenses by no less than 10 percent, and implementing a new economic development model.
