The report of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) a UN regional commission is not very optimistic about the growth of the Caribbean Latin America region and expects in 2019 that economic growth continues to decline mainly due to a slowdown in the global economy, which has resulted in an unfavorable international environment for the region.

"The region faces an external context characterized by greater uncertainty and complexity: less dynamism on the part of global economic activity and global trade; greater volatility and financial fragility; a challenge to the multilateral system and an increase in geopolitical tensions," indicated ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena said during the presentation of the report in Santiago, Chile.

The weak growth in most countries is due to the lack of dynamism of investments and exports and a decline in public spending and private consumption.

This ECLAC study highlights the importance of expanding fiscal space that has been constrained by inadequate income levels to cover spending, resulting in deficits and increased debt in recent years. In addition, the effects of increasing currency volatility and increasing depreciation will limit the ability of central banks in the region to strengthen their policies to stimulate aggregate demand, in addition to the fact that structural conditions exacerbate external vulnerability and do not help stimulate growth.

In terms of investment and productivity, the UN Regional Commission considers it imperative to increase the participation of knowledge-intensive sectors in the productive structure through a more active role of public and private investment. ECLAC also calls for redirecting investments to more dynamic sectors and adopting stimulus policies that have an impact in terms of innovation, learning and quality jobs.

According to the report, growth for the Latin America and the Caribbean region in 2019 is estimated at 0.5% just over half of the growth rate recorded in 2018, which stood at 0.9 %.

For Haiti, the UN Regional Commission is a little more optimistic and forecasts 0.9% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) against 0.4% estimated last June by the World Bank.

While 3 countries will record negative growth in 2019: Nicaragua (-5%), Venezuela (-23%) and Argentina (-1.8%), the Dominican Republic, once again should have the growth the highest in the entire Latin America and Caribbean region and reach 5.5%

Forecast of Area Growth Rates in 2019 :

1 - Dominican Republic: 5.5%

2 - Panama: 4.9%

3 - Bolivia: 4.0%

4 - Honduras: 3.5%

5 - Peru: 3.2%

6 - Colombia 3.1%

7 - Guatemala: 2.9%

8 - Chile: 2.8%

9 - El Salvador: 2.3%

10 - Costa Rica: 2.5%

11 - Paraguay: 1.6%

12 - Mexico: 1.0%

13 - Haiti: 0.9%

14 - Brazil: 0.8%

15 - Cuba 0.5%

16 - Uruguay: 0.3%

17 - Venezuela: -23.0%

18 - Ecuador 0.2%

19 - Argentina: -1.8%

20 - Nicaragua: -5.0%

SL/ HaitiLibre