Vicente Lafuente (Valencia, 61 years old), elected this Thursday president of the Confederation of Businesses of the Valencian Community (CEV) – the regional employers’ association – claimed in his first speech “political stability and public budgets”. The entrepreneur replaces Salvador Navarro, who had been at the helm of the organization since 2011 and who re-ran but ultimately withdrew due to the rejection of some economic sectors who opted for Lafuente as a replacement. In his first words, the new president of the Valencian Employers’ Union expressed good harmony with the current CEOE and insisted that reconstruction in the area affected by the damage “is urgent, right and must stay out of the political battle”.
The electoral assembly of the CEV chose the single candidate by acclamation, both in the case of Lafuente and in the federations of the three provinces. In Valencia it will be chaired by Eva Blasco, who reiterates her position; in Alicante it will be César Quintanilla, replacing Joaquín Pérez, and in Castellón it will be chaired by Luis M. Martí, replacing Carmelo Martínez.
Lafuente justified the change of presidency of the Valencian employers’ association, which occurred in the face of the possibility of Navarro repeating the presidency. “I assume the presidency with deep respect, as a commitment to the entire Valencian society and our companies,” he said with words of gratitude to his predecessor. “I believe in the autonomous model of the CEV employers’ association, which has established itself as an example of success, but which must evolve. Nobody expects a revolution. It is a project that continues with what has been done well and with courage” with what remains pending or needs improvement, expressed Lafuente.
The newly elected president promised a choral, open and shared leadership, “not at all presidentialist”. “We want a horizontal, open and shared CEV. As Juan Roig says, the customer is the boss and our companies are”, defended the leader.
Lafuente assured that one of the axes of his presidency will be a “constant defense of the neutrality and political independence” of the CEV, based on institutional loyalty. In this sense, he appreciated his predecessor Salvador Navarro as “a free voice”.
The leader did not want to comment on the political situation that the Valencian Community is experiencing following the resignation of the president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, who will remain in office until his replacement is appointed. But he asked that the priority now should not be electoral strategies and calendars. “At this point in the calendar we should be able to soon analyze what the economic and social roadmap will be for next year, that is, what budgets the Generalitat and the Government will present,” he said. In particular, he asked that the dana objects be guaranteed “because Valencians need them to be able to reactivate and in no case should they be the subject of political battles”.
He also called for better taxation, incentives for technological investments, more state investment in the province of Alicante and for the underfunding of the Valencian region to be resolved once and for all. “It is only possible that PP, PSPV and Compromís (as Valencian forces) act in a Valencian way, they will definitely find us there.”
In terms of national politics, Lafuente criticized labor relations “by decree” and “on the margins of social dialogue”. And he expressed himself in favor of a social and bipartite dialogue with the unions to negotiate and sign collective agreements. “Regardless of the political color of the government, we must focus on what comes from the reality of its companies, and not from the armchairs, and the solutions must come from consensus, especially between unions and employers,” he underlined.
The new president of CEV anticipated a period of “small changes”, with attention to the needs of SMEs but also of large companies in a “good” economic context even if with high-risk sectors such as the automotive industry and other emerging ones. “I am optimistic about the future of the Valencian economy, but political stability is lacking, it is important that there are budgets”, especially for the area affected by the dana.
At the beginning of the event, Salvador Navarro took his leave after 15 years in office. “When I arrived, the challenge was to modernize corporate representation, so we eliminated the structures to obtain a more agile and efficient organization and have greater financial autonomy,” said the entrepreneur. According to what he explained, today CEV’s financial self-sufficiency rises to 62%.
Navarro recalled that the debt he found upon his arrival is now reduced to zero and asked the next management of the employers’ association to continue the effort to increase the representation of women in the organization, which went from 6% to 32% during his presidency “even if there is still a long way to go.”
The outgoing president felt particularly satisfied with the fact that “we are all in this house” and called for unity to achieve the expected results. After thanking the vice presidents and his closest collaborators, he took leave with a message referring to general politics: “Please don’t make Valencians main actors when you have to vote and secondary actors the rest of the time.” The assembly recognized his work with loud applause and everyone on their feet.
