Post date: Jun 05, 2012 8:44:39 PM
SANTIAGO, CHILE (JUNE 5, 2012) (REUTERS) - King Juan Carlos of Spain met with Chile's President Sebastian Pinera on Tuesday (June 5) as he headed a trade delegation to court Latin American economic support.
Protests greet Spain's King Juan Carlos during a visit to Chile.
The King's meeting with Pinera is the second leg of a Latin American trip as Spain battles an economic crisis at home.
On Monday (June 4) the monarch visited Brazil for talks on boosting trade relations.
Spain contributes $85 billion dollars to Brazil's economy and is the country's second-largest foreign investor.
It is the royal's first trip abroad since his hip operation following a fall during a much criticized elephant-hunting safari in Botswana this April.
Members of the delegation included the presidents of Banco Santander, Repsol, Telefonica, Iberdrola, Indra and Iberia.
Pinera congratulated Spain on its current efforts to weather the economic storm that has forced many European countries, including Greece, Ireland and Italy to ask the EU for bailouts.
"We are looking with much interest at the great changes and reforms that Spain is carrying out now to try to recuperate the growth and prosperity that is necessary for the country and that the Spanish people deserve."
Despite the overwhelmingly business-focused nature of the King's delegation, King Juan Carlos said the most pressing problems in Europe at the moment were of a political nature.
"The world is going through a crisis, the equal of which we cannot remember since 1929. A crisis that has been difficult with an especial intensity in Europe but permit me to say to you that the problem in Europe not is an economic problem, it is a political problem."
The King will also accompany President Pinera to the fourth Summit of the Pacific Alliance which takes place on Wednesday (June 6) in the northern city of Antofagasta.
The 74-year old monarch, who was seen walking with a stick due to his recent surgery was met by a small crowd of animal rights demonstrators and Spanish Republicans who had gathered in protest, angered by his recent hunting trip to Africa.
Yesenia, a Spanish exchange student studying in Chile, said she felt the King did not represent Spanish interests.
"We are not represented by the monarchy. In Spain we do not feel an affinity with the monarchy or the King. In Spain there is a very big crisis now and he went on safari to kill elephants."
The trip highlights a shift between the new and old world as the economies of Brazil and Chile thrive while Spain's economy languishes.