{"id":22900,"date":"2008-11-12T00:10:00","date_gmt":"2008-11-12T00:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/blog\/?p=441"},"modified":"2008-11-12T00:10:00","modified_gmt":"2008-11-12T00:10:00","slug":"travesia-en-el-desierto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/travesia-en-el-desierto\/","title":{"rendered":"Desert trek"},"content":{"rendered":"
Throughout our lives, there are times when we have to endure unwanted situations \u2013 such as being made redundant, a break-up or a new working environment \u2013 which test our capacity for sacrifice and resilience. These journeys through the wilderness are gruelling trials that confront us not only with the world around us, but also with ourselves; yet they offer a light at the end of the tunnel \u2013 a way out for those who overcome adversity and manage to reach their goal.<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

During the journey, the traveller will have to overcome a host of obstacles; they will go hungry, struggle to find water, freeze at night, and be worn down by the scorching sun during the day\u2026 but the oases will help them to stay strong and restore their energy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ultimately, coming of age is a matter of faith in oneself and in the values that help one to endure whatever life throws at them: order, discipline, the capacity to endure hardship, the ability to wait, and the ability to carry on.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good to cross a desert \u2013 or several \u2013 in the course of one\u2019s life. The difficulties one has faced have given one time to reflect, to get to know oneself deeply, and, most importantly, to better oneself with each new challenge and ultimately to triumph.<\/p>\n

I would like to use this text as an analogy for the period we are about to endure in Spain. Until very recently, we were puffing out our chests and believed ourselves to be at the forefront of Europe, with that spectacular growth of 4-5% compared to the meagre 1-2% of France or Germany, but suddenly, as if it had all been a dream, we have woken up to find nothing but a vast expanse of sand all around us \u2013 a huge desert from which it will be difficult to escape, though not impossible. Some, those close to the oases, still believe that everything is perfect.<\/p>\n

Spain must come to terms with the fact that the coming years are going to be tough, a situation exacerbated by our low productivity and the demise of the two sectors on which growth was based over the past decade: tourism and construction. Only by accepting that the models of the past were flawed can we lay the foundations for future growth to take place.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take Italy as an example, as it is our close neighbour, even though it is in a different league. Italy has an export capacity that Spain lacks; it is no coincidence that it ranks amongst the world\u2019s top eight exporting powers, even though its trade balance is also in deficit. Italy\u2019s largest exports can be found in the automotive, petrochemical, defence and electrical sectors, but, without a doubt, what gives Italy an advantage over Spain are its key industries \u2013 those that are world-renowned and enjoy international prestige, such as the food industry, the fashion industry and the luxury car industry. In this case, the \u2018Made in Italy\u2019 label provides the country with a safety net against potential competitors and a lifeline in times such as these.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Spain, on the other hand, despite having exquisite cured meats, wines that delight any palate, and cheeses and olive oils that win awards worldwide (we\u2019ve always been great lovers of good food here), fails to get its products sold in ordinary shops across half the world, as is the case with Italian produce. It\u2019s frustrating to be in a mid-range restaurant abroad, flick through the wine list and see how, amongst the multitude of Italian, French, Californian and Australian bottles, there are barely a couple from Spain \u2013 and sometimes not even that. And this is just one sad example of the lack of clout behind the \u2018Made in Spain\u2019 label.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Spain must make the most of this difficult period that lies ahead to lay the foundations for future growth, and make a clear commitment to certain sectors in which it can achieve competitive advantages (as Italy currently enjoys) in the future. If this journey through the wilderness does not serve to open our eyes, help us understand ourselves more deeply and strive to better ourselves in the future, Spain\u2019s growth will be doomed to the emergence of bubbles of various kinds which, each time they burst, will only serve to sink us deeper into the quicksand of stagnation and recession.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A lo largo de nuestras vidas hay momentos en los que nos toca sufrir situaciones no deseadas como un despido, una separaci\u00f3n, un nuevo ambiente laboral, que ponen a prueba nuestra capacidad de sacrificio y superaci\u00f3n. Estas traves\u00edas en el desierto son duros viajes que nos enfrentan no s\u00f3lo con el entorno que nos rodea, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sin-categorizar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22900\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clusterfamilyoffice.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}