Opinion

El hachazo de Trump a la ayuda humanitaria causa muertes y afecta a la salud global, y forma parte de una tendencia de numerosos países occidentales en los últimos años Llevamos semanas siguiendo con atención el impacto de los recortes a la cooperación internacional que el presidente norteamericano, Donald Trump, ha llevado a cabo con orgullo y muchos aspavientos. Un reciente artículo de la periodista Julia Navarro y la lectura de un informe del Real Instituto Elcano que firma una de sus investigadoras principales, Iliana Olivié, me hicieron reparar, sin embargo, en que los recortes de Trump no son ni…

Las selecciones nacionales de fútbol en África tienen predilección por los animales como sobrenombre. En Europa se opta más por colores como la Roja, les Bleus o gli Azzurri, por ejemplo. Sin embargo, en el continente africano son más propicios a equipararse con un espécimen del reino animal. 35 de sus selecciones nacionales, de 54 (36, si tenemos en cuenta a la de Sáhara Occidental, Los camellos, que no está reconocida por la FIFA) se identifican con alguno de ellos. Puede ser un poderoso felino, como el león, el leopardo o el guepardo. Algo tan temido como un cocodrilo, una…

El Fondo Monetario Internacional volvió a recortar ayer sus previsiones de crecimiento para África subsahariana. El ajuste añade presión a unos gobiernos que ya revisan al alza sus necesidades de financiación antes de la próxima ronda de emisiones de deuda. El nuevo mensaje, firmado por Abebe Selassie, director para África del FMI, habla de un crecimiento del 3,8 % en 2025, cuatro décimas menos de lo que se esperaba en octubre del 2024. A primera vista parece un jarro de agua fría, pero el dato cobra otro color cuando se compara con el 2,8 % que el FMI asigna al…

Permítanme hoy un ejercicio de reflexión sobre el objeto y la razón de ser de esta institución nacional ubicada en Canarias y el por qué es importante la diplomacia pública Ya cada vez me ocurre menos veces, pero no es extraordinario que algún canario o canaria que conozco me dice que no sabe exactamente qué es Casa África. Estamos cerca de cumplir los veinte años como institución y aún nos sigue pasando, muy de vez en cuando. Hoy permítanme un ejercicio de reflexión para tratar de contarles desde la perspectiva institucional qué es y qué hace Casa África, para que…

A principios de abril 2025, el Ministerio de Industria y Comercio de Senegal anunció una medida que tendrá un impacto enorme en la gestión de los productos agrícolas de gran consumo en el país: la prohibición de importar cebollas y patatas procedentes del exterior. Senegal produce suficientes cebollas y patatas para cubrir las necesidades de su población. Sin embargo, hasta el momento, debido a acuerdos internacionales, se veía obligado a importar estos productos. Países Bajos es el principal proveedor de cebollas al mercado senegalés. El país de la Teranga paga una media de 42 millones de euros cada año por…

El Área de Desarrollo Económico y Social de Casa África trabaja no solo en diplomacia económica, sino en diplomacia deportiva, migraciones o emergencias. Siguiendo con la línea iniciada en mis últimos artículos, de repaso de la labor que se hace en Casa África y visibilización de su equipo, hoy quisiera hablarles del trabajo que se realiza en el Área de Desarrollo Económico y Social, una sección de la Casa de la que forman parte Yurena Ojeda y Naziha Hage y desde la que se implementan acciones no solo relacionadas con la diplomacia económica pura, sino también con la diplomacia pública…

Located off the coasts of Senegal and Mauritania, Cape Verde is a meeting point between America, Africa and Europe. Since the 15th century, it has been a strategic and emblematic place for the slave trade and Portuguese colonisation. Its current population is mostly of mixed race. An ethnic but also cultural mix which, despite its complexity and the difficulty the population sometimes has in identifying itself as African, has somehow managed to become a strength over time. While it is true that many other territories, such as Brazil or the West Indies, are also marked by...

In my modest experience, first as a citizen and then as a small businessman, Africans have many opportunities to explore when we are already here, in the Canary Islands, in Spain and in Europe. First, the work, the working conditions, the working hours, the legislation, the salaries are a privilege compared to our countries of origin. Secondly, the health system is also nothing like many places in Africa and provides opportunities to maintain good physical and emotional health. The economic freedom of working here is not the same as working there. The family burden of a worker...

Racism can be invisible and invasive, invisible because you don't realise you are committing it and invasive because it is copied by children or other people and continues to be done in the long run. I propose to answer just four of the many questions to find out if you or others are unknowingly invisible and invasive racists. Do you often make a racial joke when you have a trusted black person among your friends? Have you ever asked someone of a different race: Can I ask you a question?

Francis' sensitivity to Africa and his concern for issues such as climate change and migration leave a legacy that the continent will not only never forget, but also explains the rise of Christianity across the continent. Francis Bergoglio, Pope Francis, the first South American Pope and the first Pope from the so-called Global South, an Argentinian who will leave a deep mark for his extreme sensitivity towards the poor and marginalised, has passed away. It is more than significant that at a time when the world is convulsing step by step towards extreme right-wing positions very marked by ultra-liberalism, the loss of the...

The partial suspension of tariffs does not eliminate the real impact on African economies. The continent is once again out of the spotlight and needs responses of its own The economy needs confidence. But in Africa, confidence is faltering in a context where the rules of the game change by the minute - even by the second. When US President Donald Trump announced a wave of tariffs on 2 April, there were looks of disbelief and uncertainty on the African continent. While it is true that these 54 countries were not the main target, there is no doubt that the effects...

Casa África's Antonio Lozano reading club reached its 100th book last week and its head, Ángeles Jurado, received an award in Asturias for her tireless promotion of African literature in Spain Today I wanted to bring you an atypical article because I have found what I am about to tell you, firstly, and then reproduce, exciting. Perhaps you don't know that at Casa África we have a reading club. It has been called, for some years now, Casa África's Antonio Lozano Reading Club. The name pays homage to its founder, a great writer and a great friend of...

Lights and shadows. To the optimism about the progress made in the negotiations between the state and regional governments to articulate a better response, as a country, to the reception and care of migrant boys and girls without family references who have been arriving in the archipelago by sea in recent years, now loom the reluctance and trickery of some regional administrations, to hinder a process that should be completed as soon as possible. As soon as possible, yes, because it is essential that these people are able to find the most suitable accommodation for their social inclusion; here, there and beyond,...

There are still some 600 million Africans without access to electricity, a fundamental condition for development, economic growth and improved quality of life. It is estimated that almost half of all Africans currently lack regular access to electricity. The latest estimates suggest that between 570 and 600 million people suffer from poor or no electricity at all. The figure becomes even more relevant when compared to the rest of the world: of all human beings living in the so-called electricity gap, 80%...

First, I came to Africa through music. At just 19, I saw Bob Geldof and the Live Aid festival. Soon after, I devoured every groove of Paul Simon's Graceland album and learned of Mandela's South Africa in prison. I fell in love with artists like albino Malian Salif Keita, South African Miriam Makeba, barefoot lady Cesaria Evora, Yeke Yeke's Guinean Mory Kanté, or Senegalese businessman and politician and mbalax king Yossou NDour. In 2001, my life was turned upside down. Fragile wooden boats full of women, men, children, children's rights activists and...