Latin America´s relatively young population, compared with other regions like Europe, provides an opportunity for the region to be more competitive, Surinam-born trendwatcher and author Adjiedj Bakas said in an email to Latin Business Daily.
“If we want to fulfill the aspirations of the world population and deal with the rising costs of aging and health care, by 2050 the world’s combined (gross domestic product) GDP must quadruple. Latin America can do fine due to a young population and if more is invested in education and entrepreneurship,” Bakas said.
Several leading institutions have warned about the impact of aging populations in developed countries, he said.
In addition, Latin America has already shown success - particularly after several countries in the region leaned toward capitalism, he said.
“Thanks to this success, the middle classes here are larger and more affluent than ever before. Even in the lower classes, people are better off than 50 to 100 years ago,¨ Bakas said.
However, despite these improvements, the desire for Latin Americans to migrate is strong as people have more means to move, especially those in the lower income brackets.
“Now they have smartphones, TV and Internet and they can see that life can be better, that they can fulfill more aspirations elsewhere,” Bakas said. “The only way to stop this is by accelerating economic growth in Latin-America much faster. The problem is that politicians are not able or willing to do that. They are the main obstacle to fast growth due to incapability, inertia and corruption. While the political elite wastes valuable time with cynical political games, the people are on the move."
Latin America should also preserve its freedom from religious violence in other parts of the world, he said.
“I was born and raised in Surinam. In the capital, Paramaribo, the mosque and synagogue are side by side, peacefully,” he said. “Let’s keep it that way,” he said.
Bakas' comments were obtained following publication in early September by PRNewswires of information about a recently published book he authored titled “Capitalism and Slowbalization.” In the book, Bakas said “capitalism needs to reinvent itself it if wants to save the free democratic society it springs from.”
The book “investigates the state of capitalism and the worldwide power struggle,” according to the press release.
Bakas, born in 1963, lives in the Netherlands.
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