The debate on connectivity and digital issues actually encompasses a broader debate on democracy and development. This idea resonated this Sunday during the speech Connecting the future: investments in quality digital infrastructure, part of the business forum convened by the European Union, the Government of Colombia, the CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean and the IDB Group in parallel with the fourth summit between the 27 countries of the European Union (EU) and the 33 of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), in the Colombian city of Santa Marta.
Investing in high-quality, sustainable digital infrastructure is essential to promote inclusive growth and accelerate a fair digital transition, was the panel’s initial approach. This requires not only physical infrastructure, but also “soft” capabilities in artificial intelligence, 5G, cybersecurity and data governance. Both the Global Gateway Investment Agenda between the EU and the region, and the multilateral development banks, support this transformation through projects that strengthen resilience, improve governance frameworks and build local capacities.
“The main premise is that none of these discussions or debates make sense if we do not start from the democratic premise. If democracy, the rule of law, the principles, the values, the democratic institutions are not respected here, we are simply discussing in a vacuum”, stated from the beginning Fernando Carrillo Flórez, first vice-president of PRISA, the editorial group of EL PAÍS, in the conversation shared with Michelle Muschett, director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP); Karim Lesina, of Millicom; and Celedonio von Wuthenau, of Nokia. “Connecting the cables is very important, without a doubt. It is connecting the infrastructure. But above all we must connect principles, values and institutions of democracy,” he added in the debate moderated by Sebastián Nieto, of the Development Center of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Muschett agreed. “Today we are not talking about connectivity and digital issues, this is a conversation about democracy, development and the future of the region,” the UNDP official stressed. Rapid technological evolution presents itself as a pressure point on the development trajectory, but also as a relief valve, he noted. It’s a problem and a solution at the same time. As it impacts democracies, changes political discourse and increases polarization, greater digital literacy and transparent data governance are needed.
“We need simple, predictable and immutable rules,” asked Lesina, Millicom’s executive vice president of corporate affairs and institutional relations, of the private sector. “Companies or governments that scale up AI today will become market leaders tomorrow. Period,” he predicted. For his part, von Wuthenau, head of government relations for Latin America at Nokia, described digitalization as “a great opportunity for the state to provide quality public services”, warning however that everything is feasible thanks to networks that cost money and represent important investments.
Carrillo regrets that misinformation currently has no limits or sanctions. “There is some kind of brazen display of technological power,” he warned. “Professional and rigorous journalism that confirms and verifies is a solution to all this,” he added. And in this context, he concluded, cooperation between the European Union and Latin America is “crucial”.
Latin America and the Caribbean face three major “development traps”: insufficient economic growth, high inequality with low social mobility, and institutional weakness with ineffective governance. Furthermore, the region must address climate change and move towards environmentally sustainable development. Digital transformation is the future and is key to overcoming these challenges, the report explains Connecting regions, bridging gaps, building sovereigntyby the Carolina Foundation and the European Council on Foreign Relations. However, the digital divide has become a structural problem for the region, which hinders the achievement of these objectives, adds this working document, prepared precisely ahead of the EU-CELAC summit.
“The convergence of visions and objectives between Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union has crystallized in the EU-LAC Digital Alliance, launched in March 2023 with the aim of revitalizing bi-regional cooperation,” its authors underline. The Alliance establishes as lines of work political dialogues on digital governance, connectivity, the Copernicus satellite network and the promotion of business digitalisation. “In a context marked by international volatility and growing geopolitical confrontation, the digital cooperation initiated between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean acquires renewed strategic importance,” states the diagnosis. “Instead of depending on unstable geopolitics dictated by the interests of Washington or Beijing, the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean have the opportunity to build a bloc of cooperation capable of being autonomous, interdependent and resilient.”
