The Latin American and Caribbean regions will see economic growth of 5.9 percent in 2021 during a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated the longstanding problems that were already present in the region, according to a report released by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The report, titled ‘Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2021: Labor Dynamics and Employment Policies for a Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery Beyond the Covid-19 Crisis’, the organisation also projected that the economy will register a slowdown of 2.9 percent in 2022.
ECLAC’s Executive Secretary Alicia Barcena said that the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to inequality, low investment, the informal economy, unemployment and poverty in the region. She also called for the recovery in investment and employment for sustainable, dynamic and inclusive growth.
The 5.9 percent growth registered this year is primarily because of a low base of comparison. The LaTam region registered a 6.8 percent contraction in 2020, along with positive effects from increase in external demand, increase in prices of basic commodity exports from the region and an increase in aggregate demand.
Barcena also noted there have been quite a few imbalances between developed and developing nations including most Latin American and Caribbean countries.
She told the media, “To maintain expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, the countries of the region need to complement domestic resources with greater access to international liquidity and multilateral mechanisms, if necessary, to facilitate debt management.”