Capital Flows to Latin America and the Caribbean: First Quarter 2020 in Times of COVID-19

Highlights • In the first quarter of 2020, the spread of the coronavirus, together with a precipitous decline in commodity prices, radically changed the financial landscape for Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) issuers. After a record breaking issuance of US$ 38 billion worth of bonds in January, bond issuance dried-up in February and March, bringing total quarterly issuance to US$ 45 billion. • On March 26, however, Panama successfully placed a sovereign bond in cross-border markets to secure additional resources to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. It was followed in April by other four soverei…

Discurso de cierre del trigésimo octavo período de sesiones de la CEPAL

Discurso de cierre del trigésimo octavo período de sesiones de la CEPAL Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la CEPAL Santiago, 28 de octubre de 2020 Querido Rodolfo Solano Quirós, Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto de Costa Rica, Dear Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary General, thank you for being with us today, Esteemed Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations and Chair of the Group of 77 and China, Distinguidos Cancilleres, Viceministros y delegados de los Estados miembros de la CEPAL, Señoras y señores miembros del Cuerpo D…

Evento con países de América Latina y el Caribe enfatiza la importancia de garantizar un régimen de protección social universal

Reconstruir mejor implica hacerlo con igualdad y sostenibilidad, con un pacto social que incluya una nueva ecuación entre el Estado, el mercado y la sociedad, que permita alcanzar un régimen universal de protección social y de acceso a bienes públicos básicos, afirmó hoy Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL). La máxima representante de la Comisión regional participó en un evento paralelo al Foro Político de Alto Nivel de las Naciones Unidas 2020 (HLPF, por sus siglas en inglés), que se desarrolla virtualmente este mes de julio, ti…

CEPAL presenta cinco propuestas para ampliar el espacio fiscal de los países del Caribe

Presentación de la Secretaria Ejecutiva de la CEPAL, Alicia Bárcena (en inglés). El apoyo financiero concesional a los países del Caribe es imperativo en respuesta a la crisis desatada por la enfermedad del coronavirus (COVID-19) y enfrentar las vulnerabilidades económicas y climáticas que los afectan. Así lo enfatizó hoy Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), durante una sesión del Foro Político de Alto Nivel de las Naciones Unidas 2020 (HLPF, por sus siglas en inglés), que se desarrolla virtualmente este mes de julio, en donde …

COVID-19 Pandemic Will Lead to the Biggest Contraction in Economic Activity in the Region’s History: A -5.3% Drop in 2020

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean through external and domestic factors, the combined effect of which will lead to the worst contraction that the region has ever undergone, exceeding those seen in 1914 and 1930. According to the latest estimates, an average regional contraction of -5.3% is forecast for 2020, ECLAC indicated today while launching a new report. The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, presented on this Tuesday, April 21, the COVID-19 Special Rep…

ECLAC Will Present its Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2020

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will present on Tuesday, October 6 its Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2020: Main conditioning factors of fiscal and monetary policies in the post-COVID-19 era, the institution’s flagship annual economic report, which takes stock of the region’s economies in the last year, with special emphasis on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, and examines the prospects for the coming months. The latest edition of this document – published by the United Nations regional commission since 1948 – will present an analysis o…

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector in Latin America and the Caribbean, and options for a sustainable and resilient recovery

Since April, tourism in the region has almost come to a temporary standstill as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This temporary paralysis has not only hit Caribbean economies and employment hard, but also many local communities in Latin America. Tourism accounts for half of services exports in Latin America and the Caribbean and represents significant shares of gross domestic product (GDP) and employment. An impact scenario shows that the slump in tourism may cause total GDP growth in the Caribbean and Latin America to fall by 8 percentage points and 1 percentage point,…

Advancing the Decade of Action for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean

Financing for development in the era of COVID-19 and beyond: Urgent considerations for the Caribbean