(Madrid, October 3, 2016) .- The First Lady of Costa Rica, Mercedes Peñas, visited the headquarters of CEPES with the aim of boosting the social economy in the Central American country.
The meeting was also attended by the Ambassador of Costa Rica in Spain, Doris Osterloff, and counselor minister and consul general of the embassy of this country, Guillermo Rojas; with the president of CEPES, Juan Antonio Pedreño; CEPES and vice presidents, Arantxa Lascurain and Rafael de Lorenzo.
At this meeting, CEPES and the Central American country agreed to establish channels of dialogue, both at institutional level and between companies and organizations of the Social Economy of both states, with the aim of promoting and giving visibility to the Costa Rican Social Economy.
Pedreño the First Lady offered all the support and advice of CEPES to enhance the Costa Rican Social Economy.
In Costa Rica there are 887,335 people associated with companies and organizations in the Social Economy, which represents 21% of the population. 594 cooperatives in the Central American country generated 21,632 direct jobs, according to the Fourth National Cooperative Census 2012.
UN speech
Peñas represented Costa Rica in the HLE parallel to the General Assembly of the United Nations, held in New York in late September level.
In his presentation "The social economy: key sector for sustainable urban development 'Peñas stressed that this economic sector" has important effects on infrastructure, ecosystems and capacity to provide public services and the challenge of giving opportunities sectors that are now excluded from development in cities ".
Peñas also stated that "with globalization, we have huge challenges to desempeñarnos and be competitive and responsible in a new global environment, which has centered on the market, the production of wealth and often ruthless exploitation of natural resources. It is in this context that the social solidarity economy takes a leading role, especially in urban and rural communities, once forgotten and the margins of development, who see the social solidarity economy that engine to be recognized, empowered and take their place in the history".
