Ministers and Authorities from Latin America and the Caribbean Will Dialogue at ECLAC about Challenges to Public Finances in the Region

The Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy, the main point of reference for discussing issues related to the public finances of Latin American and Caribbean countries, will hold its 31st session on March 25-26, 2019 at ECLAC’s headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

The seminar is a multilateral and regional high level space for exchanging opinions on macroeconomic and fiscal policies and challenges in the region.

The gathering – organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and with the sponsorship of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) – will join Finance Ministers and Deputy Ministers from ten countries in the region with known experts from international bodies, academia, civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations.

At the seminar, participants will address the trends and challenges affecting fiscal policy in the region in light of current national, regional and global contexts, as well as the outlook of international bodies given the fiscal challenges seen in Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, they will analyze issues such as the taxation of the digital economy, green and health taxes, public spending in light of the demographic-epidemiological transition, and the fiscal situation of subnational governments.

The seminar will be inaugurated on Monday, March 25 at 9 a.m. by Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary; Francisco Moreno Guzmán, Chile’s Undersecretary of Finance; and Enrique Ojeda Vila, the Ambassador of Spain in Chile.

In the framework of the event, that same day (Monday, March 25) ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena, will present the Fiscal Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2019, an annual trademark publication of this United Nations regional commission that analyzes and describes the main outcomes of the fiscal dynamics of countries in the region during the last year and which, in this edition, includes the examination of some elements of tax policy that would help drive the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with the mobilization of domestic resources.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon session scheduled for that same day (March 25), a meeting of international organizations including ECLAC, the World Bank, the OECD and the IDB will be held. In addition, a presentation will take place to unveil the report Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean (2019 version), a publication jointly prepared by ECLAC, the OECD, the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT) and the IDB.

Members of the media are invited to attend this seminar. Journalists must have their media credentials or identity documents with them to gain access to ECLAC’s building.

More information, including the event program, is available in Spanish at this link.

The entire meeting will be transmitted online via YouTube.

What: XXXI Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy.

Who:

• Authorities and international experts on fiscal matters.

Speakers at the inauguration (Monday, March 25, 9 a.m.):

• Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary.
• Francisco Moreno Guzmán, Chile’s Undersecretary of Finance.
• Enrique Ojeda Vila, Ambassador of Spain in Chile.

When: Monday and Tuesday, March 25-26, 2019.

Where: ECLAC’s headquarters. Av. Dag Hammarskjöld 3477, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile (Raúl Prebisch room).

For queries, contact ECLAC’s Public Information Unit.

Email: prensa@cepal.org; Telephone: (56) 22210 2040.