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Economists In The First Person. A Mauro Hernández proposal.
We all talk about the economy, even if we don't understand it
so we should ask those who know best, graduates in Business.
They'll tell us who economists are, what they do and what their role is.
My name is Miguel Ángel García Díaz.
My last job was chief economist at Comisiones Obreras
and now I’m part of the technical office of an organism of new creation
the Autoridad Independiente de Responsabilidad Fiscal
whose purpose is to improve the country's credibility levels
both home and abroad
and make public finances sustainable over time.
I've been a member of Comisiones Obreras since its clandestine origins
as I became a member after the dictator died
but it wasn't legal yet.
I started working at the age of 14
and I completed my university studies while I was working.
I was a union delegate at Comisiones Obreras
which fulfilled the fundamental task of defending worker’s rights.
Then I joined the economic office at Comisiones Obreras the moment I could
and completely changed my mission.
I started working at the age of 14
in the kind of low-skilled jobs you could get at the time.
Later I worked as an office boy in an insurance company
a job which no longer exists
but, at the time, it was a way to start your professional career.
Then I sat an entrance exam for a job in banking
and started there at the age of 17.
I worked at the bank until 1988
when I joined the Comisiones Obreras economic office.
Previously, as far as union action is concerned
I worked as a financial secretary at the Banking Federation
during quite a difficult time when resources were scarce
and one had to be austere as well as a good manager.
For me it was easy to decide to be an economist.
Since I was a child, I've wanted to know the way things work
such as needing money to eat and resources to live.
After my middle and high school years
I didn't think twice about my choice of economics as a career.
The feeling of going university and being part of it
gave me the opportunity to take the leap...
and be in a place where the intellect prevailed over other things
so that was very important for me.
Within the scope of economics, university taught me what it was like
and about where to look
if I wanted to know more about economic issues.
However, I miss not having received a better education
in other ways, such as relating theory to the outside world
or knowing how to stimulate students
which I'm trying to do now as a teacher from time to time.
Engaging students to be curious to learn about certain things
so they see the relationship with their lives and surroundings.
I didn't learn that at university
nor to take a wider look things.
Everything was compartmentalised and it still is
and that puts a cap on your ability to think about the issues
despite the global view of things.
Economics focuses on people and is performed by people
so it's equally important to know about economic theory
and apply it to economic policy
as to consider the human condition.
The human condition means people and philosophy is a fundamental support
to perform economic practice.
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Producer: Guillermo Luna. Image: Juan Manuel Segura.
Voice-over and script: Mauro Hernández.