GENEVA, Switzerland.- The Olympics are a sporting event that takes place every four years, where athletes demonstrate that it is possible to break the limits that humans have in terms of speed, endurance, distance, etc. This time, the competition between the United States and China to see which country would win the most medals stood out. Both tied with 40 gold medals, but the former won more total medals, with 126, while the latter won 91.
France took a remarkable fifth place, with 64 medals in total, and was noted for its good organization, although it had some problems, which are normal for an event of this magnitude. Mexico was ranked 65th among the different nations for the number of medals obtained, which were five, fewer than in previous Olympics, and with a population of nearly 130 million inhabitants. For its part, Switzerland was ranked 48th among the competing nations, with eight medals, one of which was gold, but the country only has a population of eight million inhabitants.
Now we are back to the issues that concern the French, such as whether the political parties will be able to reach an agreement to form a government and, if not, whether Parliament could be dissolved again. The country has already recovered from the sharp fall of -7.4 percent in 2020 due to Covid and is currently showing a dynamism of over one percent, with an annual inflation of 2.3 percent.
The economic and political situation in Mexico is not a topic that is frequently discussed in the European economic-financial or political media. Previously, our country’s position was discussed in various diplomatic sectors and among investors. In the latter case, it was because of the trade agreement we have with the United States and Canada, but this is becoming less and less relevant. Now we are identified more by the problems we have derived from drug trafficking and crime, as well as by our relations with populist governments, such as Cuba and Venezuela. Regarding the latter country, there is mention of its problems related to the lack of legality in its last presidential elections.
The biggest concern in Europe is the possibility that Trump wins the US presidential election and stops funding NATO, as he has said several times, which poses the risk that Russia decides to invade another neighbouring nation. On this subject, the fact that Ukraine has started attacks inside Russia, which it had not done before, is being discussed. Another risk that is being discussed is the possibility that Iran will attack Israel, which it has been threatening to do for some time; it is stressed that there is a possibility that this country has atomic weapons. There is growing pressure for countries to close their borders to immigration and even to withdraw from the European Union.
Finally, on the economic front, there is still talk of the possibility that the European Central Bank will continue to reduce the interest rate, to prevent the area from going into recession. Last June, it reduced it from 4.50 percent to the current 4.25 percent. Most countries in this area maintain inflation below 3 percent, with the exception of Turkey, where it is above 60 percent annually. It is noteworthy that in the face of the recession caused by Covid, the Turkish Central Bank decided to reduce interest rates to reactivate the economy, which caused a substantial increase in prices, which it has not been able to control.
