When a country is facing a crisis, whether economic or political, it is important for its citizens to do everything possible to think positive. A mood of pessimism only makes a bad situation worse. For example, the threat of a prolonged drought brought about by the El Niño phenomenon can wreak havoc on Philippine agriculture and industry through lack of water and energy. Although all of us should join the oratio imperata (prayer for rain) that our Church leaders have initiated, it is also useful to think of some of the positive aspects of a dry spell. No matter how trivial some of the benefits could be, I for one am rejoicing to witness all the bougounvillas bursting in all the resplendent colors of the rainbow at the turn of every corner in the cities or the provinces, thanks to the prolonged dry season. I also look forward to the super-sweet lanzones and mangoes in the coming fruiting season as the dry spell induces higher levels of sucrose in these famous Philippine fruits. I am sure the sugar millers will be enjoying higher purity in the sugar cane that will be harvested in the third quarter of this year. Although these benevolent effects on agricultural production will not offset the huge losses in such main crops as rice and corn caused by the El Niño, they can at least be reason for some cheer in an otherwise bleak environment.

I am especially commiserating with the many Spanish friends I made during my recent two-year Sabbatical leave in Barcelona. Spain is one of the European countries hardest hit by the Great Recession of 2008-2009. It is unfortunately lumped together with at least three other European countries (Portugal, Ireland and Greece) as the basket cases with an ugly-sounding acronym PIGS. Spain has an unemployment rate of close to 20 percent, with almost half of those under 25 years old out of work. Housing prices have collapsed and politicians cannot agree on vital reforms. Many economists expect only limited growth after Spain emerges from the recession and unemployment will not return to pre-crisis levels until 2015 at the earliest. It is difficult not to be pessimistic about the future of the Spanish economy.

That is why Spain’s business community has launched a media campaign urging Spaniards to focus on the positive and to remain cheerful. A website has been created to foster hope in a brighter future. It is called estosololoarreglamosentretodos.org. (we can fix this together). The website cites some good news items on which the Spaniards can focus. With wide television, billboard, and newspaper presence, the campaign is backed by, among others, the euro zone’s largest telecom Telefonica, its largest bank, Santander, and Spanish retail behemoth El Corte Ingles.

As an outsider, let me count the number of ways I can be optimistic about what is happening in what I now consider a second home, Barcelona and in Spain in general. First, despite the injuries suffered by tennis greats like Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis team has been able to reach the quarter finals of the Davis Cup. It is still a strong contender for the World Cup in South Africa this coming June. And for the Catalans in Barcelona, their favorite team Barca is still in the running for the Spanish League, for the European champions, the Europe League Championship, and the World Club Championship and the Supercop. These coming tournaments can keep hopes high in the coming months, distracting many Spaniards from their economic woes.

Another soccer mentor of mine, Juamba G., assesses the chances of Barca to win these championships as follows: “Neither Messi, nor Iniesta nor Henry are in the shape they were last year. But still the team is doing pretty well, with a stellar Xavi and great performance of Valdes, Puyol, Pique, Aves and Abidal. The new star is Pedrito, another product of the Massia (the Barca training camp for teenagers) and second best scorer trailing Messi. Ibrahimovich is not performing as expected either, and some people start to think it was a mistake getting rid of Etoo and signing the Swedish. (I do not share that opinion. I think he just needs to get more familiar with La Liga).”

My friend Juamba, who thinks positive, should be a model for Spaniards who want to contribute to the earlier rebound of their economy.

The recovery will be as rapid as there are individuals like him who see that the glass is half-filled and not only half-empty. Optimism is the best cure for a sluggish economy because a positive attitude is essential to the recovery of the investment sector, which in turn is what will make a consumption-led recovery sustainable. It is the multiplier effect, got it? For comments, my email address is bvillegas@uap.edu.ph.