At the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Cepal), the official explained the difficult conditions of our countries to conduct macroeconomic policy, in an adverse world context, aggravated by the consequences of the war in Europe.
Instability in financial and commodity markets, as well as inflationary pressures, led advanced economies to raise interest rates and reduce capital flows to emerging markets, he explained.
On the other hand, Salazar-Xirinachs added, ECLAC has already warned that the slowdown in regional growth is not only a temporary problem that began in 2020, but an endemic disease on which it is a priority to work.
From 2014 to 2023, he said, average economic growth was 0.8 percent, or less than half the two points recorded in the famous lost decade of the 1980s.
“In other words, we are ending a second lost decade and the question is what are we going to do to avoid a third?” The accumulation of demands and needs coexist with high levels of indebtedness and an increasingly reduced fiscal space, which increases the importance of the proposal for a regional platform for tax cooperation, which will be presented at this seminar.
This is an opportunity, said the executive secretary of ECLAC, to generate knowledge, share experiences and contribute to the construction of common structures that promote an inclusive, equitable and sustainable tax practice.
He stated that our region requires a deep review of its fiscal pacts, focused on a combination of permanent revenue and improvement in the quality and allocation of spending.
Both elements, he specified, are essential to advance in the transformation of development models.
This requires breaking inertia of the past in terms of power and comfort zones of some sectors, in order to collectively build a better future for all, he concluded.
The 35th Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy will be in session until next Wednesday at the ECLAC headquarters, located in the Chilean capital, and will also feature specialists from international institutions and researchers in the field.
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