Humankind has endured very challenging times. And it was in these moments that it has had the opportunity to truly evaluate the path that it should take. They are the breaking points where we, as humankind, decided on the path we would take.
Sometimes crises are warnings to change our path, to reflect on whether or not what we are doing is truly what we want to do, and to think about the kind of future in which we want to live.
So it was after the First World War, when, among other things, the predecessor of the United Nations, the League of Nations, was created, and humankind began a period of strong social, cultural, economic and artistic dynamism.
The “Roaring 20s” — a decade in which humankind reflected on the future it wanted and worked to achieve it.
It was born out of a crisis, and fate wanted it to be stopped by another one — the Great Depression. A decade of economic crisis and pessimism. A warning that humankind did not heed, which led to an even greater crisis — the Second World War.
This time, the blow was enough to learn from and make a decision on the path humankind should follow. It led to the founding of the United Nations, whose aim was to maintain international peace, achieve global security and spur economic and social development.
A new momentum was created; a new era of optimism for the future, during which we collectively forged that vision, that image we wanted, and each one of us did our part to achieve it.
It is era I still relive a bit. I recall us thinking about the future and being excited about it, enjoying our moment and, therefore, helping to create it.
So long as we are alive, we must cultivate these moments of optimism. We must maintain them and move them forward as much as we can.
Two years ago, I was at the General Assembly, as the newly elected President of a small country in Central America, El Salvador. That same General Assembly, which, several years ago, had generated such optimism, was on its way to becoming obsolete.
I proved it with a selfie to demonstrate that the world had changed; that it continues to change and that it is our duty to understand it and then harness our potential to take care of it and resolve the issues we can resolve.
And how in El Salvador we were beginning to understand that.
I said it again a year ago, amid a pandemic, which, as with any major crisis, was another warning to us to reflect on the way forward.
I spoke about how in El Salvador, despite it all, we were optimistic when thinking about the future.
This year I am here again, as we did not understand that warning and are heading towards another crisis — one that is perhaps bigger, as was the Second World War following the Great Depression, risking far more than we believe is possible to lose.
We are in a world that is increasingly accelerated, fragmented, anxious, pessimistic and individualistic. It is a world where almost no one knows where we are headed or, at least, where we would like to go, solving problems just for the time being, jumping from crisis to crisis, until we reach one we cannot resolve.
Society and the world are suffering, and we appear to be increasingly further away from addressing the causes of this suffering.
It is a world that continues to produce more than it needs; yet, there are people who continue to die of hunger and the lack of medicine and drinking water.
It is a world where if people want to do something different, they are attacked instead of being guided and assisted in forging their own path — a path the rest of humankind could follow.
It is a world, still amid a pandemic, where we have seen the worst and the best of our species and whose collective response has only increased anxiety across the world. The pandemic has deepened the crisis that already existed, while bringing us closer than we have been in decades to the collapse of our civilization.
It is a world with crises of all kinds, but primarily one with an identity crisis, and extremely anxious about the path it is taking.
Civilization is fragile; so, too, is the advancement of humankind. And we are failing to advance. One more crisis and we could lose much more, and much faster, than we believe possible.
Let us learn from previous civilizations, from their achievements and their mistakes.
We have a responsibility to history, to all those who came before us, to continue humankind’s progress and advance as far as we can, to build on what they built; to build on the shoulders of giants.
On a path that leads to the future, but that respects and values where we come from. Our traditions, our customs, our culture — the things that make us a civilization. But always moving forward and, at the same time, preparing those who will follow us in this relay race that is global development.
We still have time to learn from this crisis and to analyse whether or not we are doing what we should be doing and on the path on which we want to be.
We have all the tools to do so. We live in an interconnected, globalized world with the technology to easily solve all these problems, but without the minimum will to do so.
Everything we do, or do not do now, will define whether or not we will take advantage of this moment.
Even the smallest action.
Doing what really makes us happy. Maintaining our traditions, caring for and valuing our families. Teaching our children what we learned from our parents and our teachers. Valuing what has made us who we are and shaping who we will be.
And at the same time, looking for people who think in a similar way — optimistic about the future and the potential of human beings, while setting an example for others.
That is why, instead of again asking to build a new model of multilateralism, where we come together, as nations, to evaluate and make a decision on the path we will take,
I am announcing the intention of my country, El Salvador, to follow that new path — the path towards our development and God, as an example for other countries in the world.
Designing the future in which we want to live.
A future where people have the discernment and the opportunity to do what they really want to do.
Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”.
And Goethe said, “The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using it”.
That is the method and the philosophy we use to build that vision.
A future where people do what they love to do, and they do it well. Because they love it, or they love it because they do it well, in addition to developing economically. It is a future where the economy is a means and not an end.
This is what we will do in El Salvador. Attempt to create opportunities, one by one, and cultivate the discernment to use them. With the tools that have been provided to us and hand in hand with a population that is increasingly aware and willing to build its future.
It will not be easy, but we will take advantage of the time God has given us. Moving forward as fast as we can. Conscious of the responsibility we have.
Inviting people from all over the world who also think this way — those who have not yet been consumed with the hyper-communication of the system, who believe in the infinite potential of human imagination and creativity and in the greatness we can achieve and attain as part of that creation.
God has already decided on whether or not we will be successful. That is our destiny, and we will do our best to achieve it.