Poverty in Latin America will not decrease due to low growth and social unrest

The economic impact of social protests and slow GDP growth in Latin America make it impossible to reduce poverty in the region, warns the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

ECLAC Executive Secretary José Salazar-Xirinax warns that bad policies in countries can affect economies.

“We are thinking about governance and the quality of institutions, and we need to understand that bad policies can kill an economy. When countries fall into a vicious circle protests social and political destabilization, the economy is suffering greatly,” he said.

Only in the case of Peru did he point to a difficult environment for dialogue in the midst of protests.

“Extreme polarization, constitutional crises and very frequent change of governments always spill over into the economic sphere. Reaching agreements on a return to stability is a political challenge for social forces and governments,” he added.

A representative of the organization claims that the region suffers from “structurally low” economic growth and that this cannot be explained solely by pandemic or to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, although these events clearly do not help.

The latest ECLAC projections show that in 2023 growth in Latin America will be even lower than last year, at 1.3% compared to 3.4% projected for 2022.

This will prevent poverty will fall below the 32% threshold this year, affecting 201 million people.

ECLAC notes that the only positive news in the economic sphere is that inflation is not expected to rise further in 2022, although it warns that it will remain high. If this is done, it will ease the pressure on interest rates, which may have already peaked.

(According to the EFE agency).