LatAm to see low economic growth in 2022: UN agency

Mario Cimoli, the acting executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), speaks at a press conference in Santiago, Chile, June 6, 2022. (ECLAC/Handout via Xinhua)

The organization called for the coordination of macroeconomic policies that create a growth dynamic, raise public and private investment, and contribute to reducing inequality and poverty.

SANTIAGO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Latin America and the Caribbean region is likely to see average economic expansion of 2.7 percent in 2022, reverting to pre-pandemic sluggish growth amid strong external and domestic macroeconomic restrictions, the Santiago-based Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said on Tuesday.

The South American region is expected to see gross domestic product (GDP) grow 2.6 percent this year, after increasing 6.9 percent in 2021, the United Nations agency said while presenting its annual Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2022.

Central America and Mexico are forecast to see 2.5 percent growth this year, after expanding 5.7 percent in 2021, while the Caribbean region will experience 4.7 percent growth, becoming the only subregion to grow more than last year (4 percent).

The organization called for the coordination of macroeconomic policies that create a growth dynamic, raise public and private investment, and contribute to reducing inequality and poverty.

ECLAC's Acting Executive Secretary Mario Cimoli said during the presentation that the situation in Latin America and the Caribbean is not only the result of recent factors, but "is the accumulated result of a sequence of crises" dating back to 2008.

The report also highlighted the global impact of the crisis in Eastern Europe, which has "reduced food availability and driven up energy prices," as well as commodity prices.

Due to inflationary pressures, central banks have raised interest rates and reduced stimulus measures, while the slowdown in economic activity has restricted the recovery of labor markets, especially for women, said the UN agency.