Last night an important group of the country’s businessmen arrived at Tribu for a meeting with José María Figueres, which resulted in a dynamic typical of what today has come to be called a ” conversatorio”.
In this private, though not secret, meeting between the former president and the businessmen, Figueres began by listening and taking notes. He passed the microphone to the attendees, who took the floor one after the other with brief presentations that contributed points of view, opinions, complaints, comments and recommendations. There were 19 consecutive participations in this good exercise initiated by someone who has been out of the country for many years, demonstrating his ability to listen.
Personally, I was very impressed by the participation of Alfredo Volio, José Alfredo Sánchez, Fernando Naranjo and Luis Javier Castro. Their contributions were well grounded, impeccably articulated and of high caliber. They expressed their concerns about the lag of the public sector in keeping up with the private sector, as well as the underlying problem of ungovernability in Costa Rica. Their entrepreneurial approach, experiences and knowledge, added to all the participations made, created a propitious frame of reference for the proposal that would follow.
Within the framework of our space in Tribu, full of youth and creativity accelerated by technology, Jorge Woodbridge contributed an approach that highlighted its importance for development. In turn, Samuel Yankelewitz focused on the serious consequences that the fiscal package under discussion could bring us. Participants ranged from agribusiness to tourism, education, infrastructure, public safety and non-traditional services such as digital production.
Throughout the night there was no talk of reelection or campaigning. Nobody asked if José María would run again, nor was there a line about the issue that brought Figueres to the Legislative Assembly a few days ago. The conversation focused on the present and the future, so it revolved around the country, its development, obstacles, opportunities and everything concerning the national productive sector. It was an exciting meeting of the highest level, visibly sensitive and sincere.
When José María finally took the floor, he focused first on exposing his vision of the global situation. With precision he demonstrated his complete connection with the most relevant issues of the planet, to insist on the need for change in the way we live. With data and examples, he went through issues related to the sustainability of the planet, its population explosion, the threats of climate change and the energy crisis in the current global system.
He then came to the country in his speech, and highlighted Costa Rica for its country brand, as well as for the existing agreements on the most important issues, such as peace, democracy and education. However, with mentions of dams and even the famous plate, he argued that we did not achieve solutions on the smaller and more urgent issues. With a visible tact and care in the selection of his words, he showed knowledge of the national reality, as well as highlighted the difficulty of prospering without a defined vision of the future. It was not necessary to criticize anyone to expose problems and solutions.
“How many tourists came last year to the country?” he asked the entrepreneurs in tourism. “More than two million,” responded Don Rubén Pacheco. “And how many do we expect this year? How many does the government anticipate in five years?”, Figueres asked again. In short, the existing planning vacuum, the absence of vision and the implications that come with an infrastructure that is not prepared with clear goals were marked. In short, as we do in business, he prepared the ground to support the need for a national development plan.
This is why, in my opinion, the most important thing came at the end. In a vehement and incisive manner, forceful and full of energy, Figueres proposed to us to unite for the creation of a national project. Just as a company works by objectives, he proposed that Costa Rica do the same with the initial agreement on the main drivers for national development. The country project in pursuit of a national understanding, therefore, has been proposed by a recognized leader willing to detonate it. In a historic and far-reaching night, Figueres demonstrated exceptional conditions.
After having managed his campaign since Consumer (former name of Tribu DDB), it was a great pleasure to greet him again. The years have not passed in vain, and I was able to rediscover José María, only now more mature, more experienced and with an extraordinary career. I have no doubt that he will be able to make a great contribution to the country.
We at Grupo Tribu are very honored for the opportunity we had to host a meeting of this level. What’s next is up to all of us.
