Seventh video interview in the series “Flashes of Life & Roots”: featuring Argentine entrepreneur and “pioneer” of the Economy of Communion, Ramon Cerviño
The interviews from the Flashes of Life & Roots project are back: we have decided to interview a series of entrepreneurs who are “pioneers of the EoC” to gather the “precious pearls” contained in the experiences of those people who, in different parts of the world and in different cultural contexts, have responded in a radical way to a common vocation: that of giving life - with their own lives - to the Economy of Communion.
The stories of these pioneers are fruits of the same tree, nourished by the same roots... Knowing their stories allows us to savor how different the expressions of the same life can be, with different forms but a common aroma. The intent of this series of interviews is therefore to nourish and encourage those who, in the present and in the future, feel called to put the Economy of Communion into practice with their own lives. That is to say, fruits that become seeds to generate new life in its many expressions.
The seventh protagonist of our series of interviews is Ramon Cerviño, an Argentine entrepreneur originally from Tucumán but a resident of Córdoba for almost fifty years. With extensive experience in the healthcare sector through a company that manages solidarity-based healthcare services, Ramon has been able to combine economic efficiency with deeply human values. In his interview, Ramon says:
«The economy of communion is the expression in the economic sphere of a lifestyle I have chosen: that of universal fraternity and the appreciation of diversity.».
His entrepreneurial vocation stems from a concrete desire: to live the Gospel in the world of economics, and it predates the Economy of Communion. Together with others, he started a healthcare company with a symbolic capital of $500 per person. In just a few years, the company reached a monthly turnover of $200,000. Ramon states with conviction:
«Look at the economic results: producing to share is possible. Behaving as in a family, where everyone contributes what they can, is the only way to solve the problem of poverty. This is the economy of communion».
For Ramon, economy and communion are not two concepts to be reconciled, but two sides of the same coin, and since everything is related, as the laws of physics also tell us, the two spheres cannot be separated.
«So if you say to me, ‘I see that there is communion on one side and economy on the other, and that they should be combined or united,’ I say to you: No! They are the same thing. If I live communion, the fruit is the economy. I work to generate wealth to share, and the more I share, the more wealth I obtain».
Un esempio concreto? In un momento di crisi, l'azienda di Ramon ha deciso di offrire gratuitamente esami diagnostici 
a chi non poteva permetterseli. Il risultato?
«Turnover increased by 30%. I don't know why, but it happened».
Trust is at the heart of Ramon's business management. No locked desks, all employees have free access to the company, even after hours, but trust does not exclude control. “Without trust there is no relationship, and there is no relationship without hurt.” When someone takes advantage and betrayals occur, firm action is taken—even dismissal—because by acting improperly, that person has excluded themselves from an environment where trust is wanted. Of course, everything is done with respect. “It's not that everything goes. That's true,” says Ramon. “But that's how you really build trust.”
To those who approach the Economy of Communion today, Ramon offers a simple but profound piece of advice:
«Choose a path and look at a star. Live for a passion, whatever it may be, but give it everything you've got».
He concludes with the words of his son, who passed away 25 years ago, and who still guide him today:
«“I am on my way to the heart of nothingness, where there is fullness».
Listen to the interview and become part of this movement too!
Find previous interviews in the Flashes of Life and Roots series on this page.
