16/03/2012
http://prensa.fundacionfaes.org/2012/MARZO/FOTO+INTERIOR2.jpg! "We should use good years to make reforms and ensure tomorrow's growth and wellbeing" ""Controlling expenses, responsibility and austerity not only do not damage the Welfare State but rather improve it" Madrid, 16.03.12.- Jos? Mar?a Aznar, former Prime Minister of Spain and president of FAES Foundation, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE) as an "acknowledgement to his outstanding political career and his staunch commitment in pursuit of freedom, democracy and Western humanism". During his address, Aznar said that "our Spanish experience tells us we should use good years to make reforms and ensure tomorrow's growth and wellbeing". Furthermore, FAES' president invited the audience to draw from the Spanish experience the lessons from good policies and bad policies and declared that the task before the new Spanish Government is very difficult. It is a task that will demand much time and sacrifice. This situation ?" he added ?" is no coincidence. We have reached this point because a great deal was done wrong. In this sense, Aznar stressed during his address that the 1996-2004 experience shows that controlling expenses, responsibility and the austerity of public institutions not only do not damage the viability of the Welfare State, solidarity policies and the strengthening of the Middle class, but rather improve them like no other policy. In contrast, he stressed that the subsequent experience, that of 2004-2011, demonstrates that irresponsible spending and the excessive growth without any criteria of public administrations is precisely what can damage social cohesion the most". With this distinction, Aznar has received Honorary Doctorates from 12 universities from Europe, America and Asia. In Latin America, FAES' president has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by Andr?s Bello in Chile, Francisco Marroqu?n in Guatemala, San Ignacio de Loyola in Per? and Universidad de las Am?ricas in Ecuador, besides Universidad Argentina de la Empresa.