The president of the National Congress in 1999, now a union spokesman for the banana sector, advises President Guillermo Lasso.
With a long political career that led him to the presidency of the National Congress in 1999 and before being a candidate for the vice-presidency and forming a binomial with Jamil Mahuad in the 1988 elections; Also Minister of Industries in the government of Rodrigo Borja, now Juan José Pons Arízaga is devoted to union activity as coordinator of the country’s banana and banana cluster, which did not prevent him from cooperating again with a regime, that of Guillermo Lasso, but as a counselor to honor presidential on issues of musaceae. Pons tells Diario EL UNIVERSO details of his current management, which he has been carrying out since last July.
What are your specific duties as a counselor?
Contribute with technical and professional opinions of the value chain of the musaceae industry for the construction of public policies for the competitiveness and sustainability of the industry, especially in the strategic plan for defense against the Fusarium FOC R4T.
Juan José Pons was appointed ad honorem government advisor on banana issues
How many times do you meet, personally or virtually, per week and with which government officials or with President Guillermo Lasso?
How many times the president and / or officials deem it necessary to deal with the issues inherent to the assigned function or when I consider that there is an issue regarding the function that requires the urgent attention of the president or a particular official.
On what issues have you advised the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, up to now?
Only on issues in which the president deems my opinion necessary.
When Minister Tanlly Vera came out, her name rang to reach the MAG, was there that possibility?
No.
How was the problem of fixing prices of the banana box handled, a negotiation in which, according to the producers, they were deceived?
From what I know from the information in the media, it was handled in compliance with all the requirements and procedures established by the current Banana Law.
Because I am the spokesperson and coordinator of the banana cluster, is there no conflict of interest when advising the Government on these issues?
No, since I act as inter-union coordinator of the unions that make up the banana and banana cluster of Ecuador, in which 100% of banana exports, 70% of banana production and 80% of the banana export, and we deal exclusively with issues that refer to public policies that benefit the competitiveness and sustainability of the entire value chain of the sector within the systemic framework of Ecuadorian society and common benefit.
We never analyze issues that correspond to the individual corporate business plans of the players in the sector.
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How much influence did you have on the national strategy against Fusarium raza 4 that the Government launched weeks ago?
As intersectoral coordinator of the banana and banana cluster of Ecuador, we actively collaborate in the work directed by the president of the COE, commissioned by the president of the Republic, to prepare an urgent and emergent plan to face the threat of Fusarium that it has the character of binding for the parties and that it includes all the structures of the central and provincial governments, academia and protagonists of the private sector.
That plan has already been delivered and approved by the president and is currently in the execution phase. (I)
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