Confronted with the challenges of low growth capacity and high inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean, efforts are being made to transform production models toward ones that enhance productivity, generate quality employment, and strengthen sectors that support the transition to more sustainable economies

May 27, 2025 — Latin America and the Caribbean is working to shift its production models in order to foster dynamic, sustainable, and inclusive development. The goal is to move the region away from a trajectory marked by low economic growth, limited job creation, and scarce productive investment.

To address this challenge, on May 27 and 28, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and Mexico’s Ministry of Economy held the workshop “Building the Economies of the Future in Latin America and the Caribbean: Driving Green Transformation and Sustainable Development through Productive Development Policies and Regional Cooperation.” The aim was to foster regional dialogue to define productive development priorities, build regional consensus, and strengthen coordination between governments, international organizations, academia, and the private sector around a common agenda for sustainable productive development.

“The trap of low growth capacity, combined with the need to create more and better jobs in the context of geopolitical changes and the obligation to work for a better planet for future generations, demands responses and commitments from all sectors of society,” said Jorge Mario Martínez, Director of ECLAC’s subregional headquarters in Mexico. “Productive development policies — aimed at diversifying economic structures, boosting productivity, and generating employment — are once again central. These policies must integrate the great potential of sectors such as renewable energy, mobility, and the circular economy to move toward low-carbon economies.”

For this transformation to take place, Martínez added, Latin America and the Caribbean would benefit from a regional, coordinated approach that strengthens cooperation among countries and fosters collaboration across the public and private sectors, academia, and civil society. Effective governance mechanisms for productive development policies, along with a shared vision, will help align policies, resources, and institutions toward common goals.

UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan highlighted that the world is experiencing a historic moment: South-South trade is now matching North-North trade for the first time in three centuries, and 70% of future trade is expected to come from the Global South. This multipolarity presents an opportunity to work with lagging countries, though multilateralism and open regionalism must be strengthened as key pillars of resilience.

Grynspan emphasized Mexico’s emblematic role as the continent’s leading exporter of manufactured goods and noted that trade tensions have shifted the logic of trade from efficiency toward stability. She highlighted the convergence of climate urgency and geopolitical reconfiguration as a unique opportunity, proposed adapting sustainability standards to regional contexts (“tropicalizing” them), and pointed out the region’s advantage in having both critical minerals and an educated youth for the energy transition. She stressed that integration is built step by step and that this workshop marks the beginning of a resilient development model based on green sectors.

Vidal Llerenas, Undersecretary of Industry and Commerce of Mexico’s Ministry of Economy, identified Mexico’s structural challenge: high levels of exports with low domestic content. He presented the Sheinbaum administration’s “Mexico Plan”, aimed at increasing domestic content, strengthening the domestic economy, and promoting import substitution. The strategy targets key sectors such as electromobility, semiconductors, aerospace, medical supplies, and electronics, all of which have become strategic in the context of shifting tariffs.

Laura Carvalho, Global Director of Economy and Climate Change at the Open Society Foundations, warned that the climate transition could reproduce North-South patterns in which mineral-rich countries export raw materials while importing processed green technologies. She emphasized that the crisis of neoliberalism and the need for structural change open opportunities for the Global South, but these require strong states committed to long-term planning and international coordination, recognizing that no single model fits all.

The workshop featured 63 panelists from eight countries, who discussed productive transformation, development policies, and regional cooperation. Topics included value chains, sectoral promotion, institutional strengthening, electromobility, and minerals. Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras were highlighted as countries making progress in these areas.