How Iberoamerica Missed the Moment - #WWG02
A fieldnote from the fractured relationship between Latin America, Portugal, and Spain
In this edition:
Personal reflections on my encounters with Portuguese & Spanish teams across global events
A reality check on how Iberoamerica is failing to act as a bloc
The unspoken fractures between LATAM professionals and their European counterparts
A list of workplace comments that reflect deeper problems
Concrete suggestions on how we can move forward differently
We’re living through a global reshuffling. New blocs are forming, old powers are clinging to familiarity, and the Global South is beginning to rise—not through charity, but through strategy.
And yet… where is Iberoamerica in all this?
Despite the shared language, culture, and history, Portugal and Spain have failed to think strategically about their relationships with Latin America. They treat LATAM as a nostalgic past or something to be dismissed—not as co-builders of the future.
But Latin America isn’t taking the back seat anymore.
Personal fieldnotes from the frontline
The first time I encountered Portuguese professionals in the global market was during the Asian Cup in the UAE. They were already well embedded—especially in the broadcasting space. Present, experienced, but culturally distant. No bridges were built between us. We were there together, but not together at all.
A few months later, something shifted. At the Web Summit in Qatar, I met a different group entirely—Portuguese women in leadership. They were sharp, inspiring, and generous with their presence. It left a mark on me. For a moment, I thought: maybe this Iberoamerican alliance we always speak of could be real.
But I never met them again.
What followed were repeated encounters with the same profile I first met in the Gulf—Portuguese and Spanish men in broadcast and technical crews, working across Latin America: Peru, Chile, and beyond. In every project, we were part of the same ecosystem but working under different companies—they stayed with the Iberian ones, we remained with the LATAM. Parallel paths. No real integration. No shared mission.
Only recently did I work under the same company as them—within a Portuguese-Spanish–led team. I was finally inside the room. Close enough to observe the internal logic. And something was missing.
No women in leadership. No diversity in perspective. No clear strategy.
5 things I’ve actually heard at work
1. Cultural superiority narratives
"The Portuguese taught Brazilians to speak."
They didn’t teach us to speak—they erased our language. They persecuted our cultures. This isn’t a harmless comment. It reflects deep ignorance and should never be normalized in a workplace.
2. Defensive responses to colonial history
"Can’t have a Brazilian complain about stolen gold anymore—I’m down to return the money, but you need to go live in the forest again."
This isn’t historical accountability. It’s sarcasm rooted in guilt and resentment. Jokes like this attempt to silence justified criticism and invalidate colonial trauma.
3. Casual racism
"Is your wife Black? I didn’t expect that."
These comments are said out loud. In offices. In front of colleagues. Without consequence. It’s as if they are stuck in the past.
4. Lack of cultural awareness
Many Portuguese & Spanish professionals enter multicultural workspaces without training, curiosity, or reflection. The result is entitlement masquerading as informality, and ignorance that actively harms collaboration.
Especially when working with Latin America, whose history is deeply marked by violence inflicted by Portugal and Spain, cultural sensibility should be primordial. If they lack that, they must be trained.
5. Lack of professionalism in global spaces
Microaggressions are brushed off. Leadership is informal and exclusionary. Structural imbalance is excused with phrases like “Relax, we’re all friends here” or “It’s just the way Portuguese people behave."
I’ve been shouted at in front of colleagues. When I raised it, I was told I was too sensitive. When I told my story to other Latinos, they shared similar ones. Repetition of behavior. Normalization of aggression.
I’ve seen workplace communication channels used to gossip in Portuguese or Spanish about Arab, Indian, and Pakistani colleagues—mocking their accents, questioning their competence, hiding behind language as a shield for prejudice.
Swearing is common. Jokes cross boundaries. Hierarchies are vague. And dignity is optional—depending on where you come from.
The Gulf: a case study in missed opportunity
Even in the Middle East—where Portuguese & Spanish professionals are among the best established in the global event industry—their presence lacks long-term vision.
Instead, what I saw clearly was a group fragmented by short-term ambitions and a striking lack of collective vision.
Too many come with the goal of making money fast and going back home. They don’t learn the local culture, don’t engage in long-term strategies, and often perpetuate colonial behavior—looking down on the region and even on immigrants from their own bloc.
They complain about everything. Replicate European elitism. And when they return home, they speak with bitterness, rarely acknowledging their role in the disconnect.
Come in. Make money. Go home.
There’s no interest in legacy-building. No community engagement. No joy. Only survival, complaints, and distance.
They criticize the cities they work in and the locals:
"This city is ugly."
"There’s nothing to do."
"People here don’t know what they’re doing."
And when they return home, the resentment continues—only now it’s turned inward.
"Foreigners have taken over our neighborhoods."
"My kids are starting to speak Brazilian Portuguese."
But there’s no reflection on why those demographic shifts are happening. No connection to the centuries of displacement, violence, and economic extraction that fueled this exact global configuration.
Just a growing sense of entitlement and a refusal to see the bigger picture.
The fracture is now undeniable
Despite shared history, the relationship today feels severed.
Brazilians and other Latinos increasingly feel mistreated, patronized, or subtly undermined—especially as we rise. We’ve adapted. We’ve learned. We’ve earned our place.
And that’s what some Portuguese & Spanish professionals cannot handle.
Today, Latin Americans are better positioned than ever. We are technically skilled, culturally agile, resilient, and globally networked. In many companies, we’ve become the face of innovation and delivery.
Meanwhile, Iberian companies are losing clients, contracts, and legacy ground.
Even within their own region, they’re being displaced:
HBS, a French-Swiss company, is now the Host Broadcaster of La Liga, Spain’s top football league. That’s not just symbolic. It’s systematic.
And newer global companies? They’re hiring Latinos.
What’s happening isn’t revenge.
It’s realignment.
So what can be done?
Acknowledge the pain
Stop pretending there isn’t a fracture. Listen beyond your own echo chamber.
Invest in multicultural training
Especially for export-oriented teams. Cultural literacy is a necessity.
Diversify leadership
Innovation dies without diversity. We need women, different ethnicities, generations, and nationalities in decision-making.
Create shared projects, not just shared events
Build something lasting. Residencies, joint ventures, production hubs.
Replace nostalgia with strategy
Shared language isn’t enough. We need structured leadership and forward-thinking.
What comes next?
Right now, international forces are realigning—BRICS is expanding, the GCC is deepening its global partnerships, and the Global South is positioning itself as a strategic player, not a passive recipient. And I’m doing my part.
Brazil is leading the Latin American bloc in the global events industry.
We’ve built this slowly and with intention:
2007 Panamerican Games
2014 World Cup
2016 Olympics
Qatar 2022: we were the largest nationality employed
Paris 2024: we were officially recognized by the Brazilian Embassy in Paris for our presence, celebrating the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In the MENA region, the shift is happening fast. Iberian companies are losing space. More global players are stepping in: IMG, DAZN...
The market is moving, and while Iberians complain, Latinos show up. With discipline. With strategy. With joy.
We see the region as a land of opportunity—and we connect with it. We value the region, we understand it.
In Qatar, we’ve held powerful leadership positions for over a decade now.
In Saudi, Brazil is leading historic commercial deals through our bilateral Chamber of Commerce. (CCBS)
We are acting as a bloc, representing Peru and Colombia in ongoing negotiations.
While we continue to be underestimated, we know exactly where we’re going.
And still—we’re more than willing to strengthen our Iberoamerican relationships.
But that will take listening, humility, and real change.
And if Spain and Portugal are smart, they’ll want to come with us.
Because this work? It’s not just about budgets and screens.
It’s about geopolitics. About power. About building something that lasts for our nations within world economy.
Ask yourself:
👉 Are you working as a bloc or in isolation?
Do you understand your country’s position on the global stage?
And what are you doing—today—to strengthen it?
Tell me your stories.
Let’s build something better. 💬🤝📣