The New Barcelona Post talks this month with Jorge Azagra, one of the participants in the leadership and city program taught by Barcelona Global, Barcelona 2040, and a lawyer at Uría Menéndez. From the international firm, Azagra is dedicated to the resolution of civil and commercial conflicts, either as a lawyer or as an arbitrator.
Currently, he presides over the Board of Directors of the Arbitration Commission and is a member of the Civil Law Section of the Barcelona Bar Association (Icab). Azagra participated in the first edition of the Barcelona 2040 program and, between May 2023 and June 2024, was the first president of the Barcelona 2040 Council. In this interview, he shares his vision of Barcelona and the city model it should aspire to.
— What do you expect from Barcelona in 2040?
— Barcelona has been and must continue to be a great city. We face numerous challenges for the future. We cannot live solely on the legacy of the Olympic spirit of 1992, Gaudí, Barça, or the good climate we still enjoy. It is essential to consolidate a city model that preserves its essence, history, and identity, without renouncing innovation, entrepreneurship, and the vocation for progress, which are also part of its DNA. I aspire to a city where it is attractive and possible to live and work, which consolidates itself as an international benchmark in opportunities, cultural and gastronomic offerings, and which is a destination for quality tourism. The true challenge lies in combining history and avant-garde, looking towards the future without losing its own identity. I hope we are up to this challenge.
— Which city would you compare Barcelona to?
— Personally, I have never been a fan of comparisons. Barcelona can and should learn from the experience of other cities, but it should not transplant foreign models that do not respond to its particularities or that dilute its identity.
— What city model do you think Barcelona should resemble?
— Rather than focusing on an abstract city model, I consider it essential to define the objectives and goals we want to achieve in the short, medium, and long term. These objectives must guide the projects to be developed, the sectors to be promoted, and the problems to be addressed in the coming years, in a coherent and cohesive manner.
"The true challenge lies in combining history and avant-garde, looking towards the future without losing its own identity"— What are these objectives?
— For example, we must move towards a more sustainable Barcelona, but carefully analyzing the measures to prevent them from being especially burdensome for citizens or from reducing the city's competitiveness against other destinations for national and international investors. At the same time, it is important to consolidate Barcelona's leadership in the field of new technologies, not only as a center of innovation and development, but also as an international meeting point through congresses such as the MWC. Another key sector, although controversial in recent times, is tourism, which employs 17% of the active population in Catalonia, according to the latest statistics. We must redirect certain trends and position Barcelona as one of the most attractive destinations in the world.
— What is the main challenge Barcelona must solve in the coming years?
--- Barcelona faces not a single challenge, but many, and at different levels. Allow me to share three personal reflections, linked to my professional experience and my generation, as a jurist, as a professor, and as a young person. As a jurist, I have seen the importance of supporting entrepreneurs and investors, offering them legal certainty. We must make their path easier. Furthermore, it is essential to highlight and publicize the aspects that do work, such as the excellent work of Barcelona's Commercial Courts (for example, the Guard Service and Rapid Action Protocol that is activated during the Mobile World Congress since 2014) or the institutional respect of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia towards arbitration.
— And as a professor, what is the city's great challenge?
— As a professor, I consider it a priority not only to attract talent, but, above all, to retain it. Many brilliant students from Barcelona are forced to emigrate to progress professionally. As a young person, I highlight access to housing as one of the city's great challenges.
"Culture and gastronomy give Barcelona that authentic character that distinguishes it from any other city"— What do you think should be the role of the new generations and their involvement in the development of Barcelona?
— The involvement of young talent is essential to build the Barcelona of the future. Therefore, it is fundamental to retain and attract new generations. However, we cannot demand that they commit to the city if it does not offer them solid opportunities for personal and professional development.
— Which business sectors do you think Barcelona should bet on?
— Barcelona must consolidate its leadership in the field of new technologies and innovation, as well as promote development and research and R&D, both from the public sector —with a solid university system— and from the private sector. In addition, given its strategic geographical position, it is essential to bet on the infrastructure sector, to have a first-class port, airport and railway connections. And we must not forget the importance of culture and gastronomy, sectors intrinsic to Barcelona's personality and that give it that authentic character that distinguishes it from any other city.