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CEPAL Says L. American Economic Growth in 1990s "Frustrating"
The director of the Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL), Jose Antonio Ocampo, said on Monday that the economic growth registered in Latin America during the 1990s was "frustrating."
The 3.3 percent annual economic growth in Latin America in the last decade of the 20th century, is two percentage points lower than the period between 1945-1980, but higher than the "lost decade" in the 1980s, Ocampo said in a document entitled "A Decade of Shadows and Lights" which was published on Monday.
In the document, which evaluates the economy and social development in the region during the last decade, he said that only through a significant increase in internal savings and the application of productivity and competitiveness development policies, will it be possible to speed up growth.
Ocampo, former director of planning and minister of Agriculture and Finance of Colombia, described as "favorable" the declining inflation, a trustworthy macroeconomic management and the growth in exports at a real annual rate of 9 percent and its diversification during the 1990s.
As negative factors, the specialist mentioned the deterioration of labor conditions, marked by the workers' lack of written contracts and the widespread poverty.
According to CEPAL, the number of people living below the poverty line in the region grew from 200 millions in 1990 to 224 millions in 1999.
Ocampo mentioned the growing gap in education level between different sectors of the population as a factor that has contributed to regional inequity.
He also analyzed the impact of globalization on the regional economy, transformations in foreign trade and infrastructure management and the law and order situation, as well as the results of environmental policy and sustained development during the last decade.
Ocampo said corruption in Latin America has not necessarily been more serious in the last decade than in the decade before, yet, currently is more "visible."
Deceleration of the U.S. economy will have a special impact on Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, due to their high degree of commercial integration with the United States.
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