São Paulo – A study by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) shows that Brazil is going to grow more than Latin America and the Caribbean this year. While the region should grow 4.7%, according to the Eclac, the Brazilian economy should grow 4.8%. This should be the sixth consecutive year of growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The growth should be smaller than last year, when it reached 5.7%, but the region, according to the Eclac, should have another five years of sustainable growth of per capita income, of over 3%. A similar period in the history of the region was registered around 40 years ago. The Eclac shows that growth has been taking place despite the unfavourable global scenery.
According to the Eclac, up to 2007 the region grew with the support of a favourable economic conjecture, which was translated into greater export demand, boosted by the Chinese and Indian markets. The region that most benefited, in this case, was South America. Central America, which exports oil, did not benefit as much.
The Eclac study also shows improvement, in Latin America and the Caribbean, in labour market indices. The rate of unemployment has been falling since 2003, reaching 8% in 2007 and expected to reach 7.5% by the end of this year.
Poverty also continued dropping. This is due, according to the Eclac, to the growth of the economy, to reduced unemployment, to an improvement in the quality of work posts created and to greater salaries. However, poverty is still high, reaching over 36% of the population, or 190 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean.
*Translated by Mark Ament
