Latin American countries worried about the effects of the crisis in Europe
The president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, and representatives of Latin American governments in Paris today expressed concern about the possible consequences of the crisis in the euro area, both for their economies to some priorities on the international agenda.
Chinchilla, who delivered a speech at the opening session of the fourth International Economic Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean, expressed hope that European countries address the crisis affecting them “avoiding protectionism” and without sacrifice some long-term international objectives such as environmental or developmental.
The president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno, acknowledged today that the eurozone crisis is already having a negative impact on Latin America, although he hoped to be controlled.
“As the recession in Europe is a mild recession, the impact on Latin America will be manageable,” said Moreno, before remembering that in its latest survey of prospects the Bank predicted that growth in the region this year would be 3.7%.
Chilean Finance Minister Felipe Larrain, warned that we must prepare for a new global economic shock, it is necessary to have prepared a contingency plan, and noted that his country’s economy is already suffering a “slowdown “.
The secretary general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Mexico’s Angel Gurria, although he was confident that the Europeans resolve the situation themselves, asked Latin Americans “keep guard” and strengthen their economies because “there will be more turmoil.”
Both Chinchilla and those responsible for Chile (Berlin: G4R.BE – news), Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis participants in this forum organized for the fourth time by the French Government, the OECD and the IDB, which is welcomed Latin America had known pass to your recurring debt crisis decades of the 80 and 90 with reforms and the consolidation of their economies.
“The sacrifices of the past three decades (…) we have provided the approach to current challenges,” said the president of Costa Rica, before commenting that because of that, although “our region suffers serious dysfunctions (… ) most of our countries are less poor and more stable. ”
Chinchilla talked about the model adopted by his country, “a small republic” founded “by teachers, not soldiers” in which “did the individual work and education the main tools to generate wealth and social mobility.”
He stressed that “macroeconomic stability should be a central objective,” in which “environmental sustainability is not only a duty but also an excellent development strategy” and that “the decision to embrace globalization (… ) has also yielded abundant fruit to the Costa Rican economy. ”
Meanwhile, the Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Latin America, Jesus Gracia Aldaz said that the new government policy toward Latin America “will change because it will intensify.”
Gracia Aldaz said that during the months spent in the current year the Executive has made an effort to maintain the policy of Spanish investments in Latin America “despite some disappointments,” alluding to the nationalization of Argentina to the Spanish oil company Repsol its local subsidiary YPF.
The Spanish official said that under the current “economic difficulties, we decided to keep the bulk of our development cooperation in Latin America” as “political option”.
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