Economists of various stripes maintain that the country has technically fallen into recession, which Contreras denies by pointing out that “technical recession” is a matter of diverse opinions.
In a conference with the foreign press, the minister qualified the statement according to which Peru, by registering insufficient growth, is technically in recession and maintained that this occurs after a longer time without growth.
He added that, although the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) did not grow in June, it recovered in July, growing one percent, he added that it was insufficient and projected a rate of two percent for the end of the year, which can oscillate between one and three percent.
Contreras admitted that low growth is unacceptable, but asserted that the outlook will improve in 2024 with the increase in foreign investment in areas such as mining, a sector in which there are projects that involve the injection of capital for 10.5 billion dollars.
He also announced measures to optimize the management of public investment, such as the creation of a technical assistance center for infrastructure projects of regional and municipal governments and a trust for the reactivation and unblocking of paralyzed projects.
Among the projects underway, he mentioned the port complex on the central coast of the country, made up of the Chancay terminals, a modern facility under construction, Ancón and Callao, the latter next to Lima.
The head of Economy also highlighted the project for a petrochemical plant that foreign companies are interested in building and that is justified by the internal demand for explosives for mining and fertilizers for agriculture.
Contreras declared he is confident that Peru will recover growth because he believes in its potential and in the resilience that can always recover, to which he added that the country maintains its international credit rating.
He pointed out that political instability and social conflict affect the economy and said that the first is on track to be overcome with the understanding between the government of President Dina Boluarte and the right-wing Parliament to apply reforms promoted by the Legislature.
In the social area, he maintained that the conflict will be dealt with in the consultative National Agreement, although he did not refer to the context characterized by persistent protests and by the disapproval in the polls, of 90 percent of the population to Congress and 80 percent to the Chairwoman.
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