translated from Spanish: CPC: “Deponfering the Plebiscite probably generates more insecurity”

“As Minister (Lucas) Palacios says, there may be a light, the light is that we are generating activation of the areas of the economy that generate impact on employment and that allow to generate these jobs and this activity,” Juan Sutil, president of the Confederation of Production and Trade (CPC) said this morning in the face of the economic figures known yesterday.” On the other hand, where I see the light of the tunnel, we actually have a drop of 14.1% and expect a second semester that is probably less complex than the previous one, and we are thinking that Chile will go back by 6 points or something in GDP. That’s dramatic, but the most important thing is for the economy to work again and harder,” he argued at Radio Universe.” The challenge we have is to recover jobs, generate activity, generate growth, investment, and there is another very important issue because we are in a political process and that political process will draw the Chile that we want or the Chile of the future and that also generates a certain degree of instability and somehow contracts the investment. Therefore, I believe that progress must also be made in this process, so that growth, investment and development is more sustained over time and in the long run because it is the only way to continue generating quality jobs,” he said. Asked whether or not to keep the date of the Plebiscite in the face of its impact on the social climate and investment, Sutil replied: “Investment decisions are affected with or without Plebiscite what happens is that postponing the Plebiscite probably leads to more insecurity. I do not have that feedback to give a categorical opinion, all I can say is that if we had a health condition that makes it unworkable from the point of view of citizens’ safety, of course I think we should not put anyone at risk. Now, if security and the Pandemic, which we have to learn to live with it until we have a vaccine, a remedy, a solution, we have to learn to live with it, taking the precautionary measures and doing the process properly I think we should move forward, that is my opinion.” The mallsSutil differentiated what happened in the Chinese Mall, “where it appears that there was informal commerce”, from a shopping mall “that appeals to the responsibility of the people. Here is one very important thing that is to demonstrate as a society that we are able to be responsible and if we are not, the authority has an obligation to regulate and that happened in the Chinese mall.” If we are responsible as has been demonstrated in many areas of production (…) the economy must be resuming,” he added. In general what you see on TV is just the ugly wedding duck or the awkward situation, but one does not see the other 99 checks where probably 90 were perfectly correct and nine had appreciation of criteria to improve. And you see what they show you is the conflicted situation over the scandal, whether it’s the one that mis-audits for lack of judgment or the one who is being infringed.” The vast majority of small, medium or large enterprises have proven to live up to the circumstances,” he added. “I want to keep the glass almost full more than things that are uncomfortable.” I think we have to resume the activity and it will make it difficult for the malls, we already saw it in the Costanera Center where there was practically very little activity and that is consumer confidence to have care and respect, which is different from what happened in the Chinese mall”. 

Original source in Spanish