elglobonews.com
Senior representatives of international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), warned in a debate organized by EFE that the coronavirus pandemic has raised economic inequalities in Latin America and they have urged to take advantage of resources to strengthen the region and not add another 'lost decade'.
Within the framework of the first virtual Davos Forum, the director of the IMF's Western Hemisphere department, Alejandro Werner, started the debate by urging the region to use the resources at its disposal to "restore inclusive growth."
Werner assured, with the question on the table of 'How to ensure that Latin America has its post-COVID-19 'Marshall Plan'?', that the IMF has a very important capacity to continue supporting the region in emerging from the crisis , but regrets that the demand for resources is low.
He also referred to the need for greater integration in the region that allows "moving with one voice" in the face of a recovery - the IMF forecasts growth of 4,1% in 2021 - subject to a very high level of uncertainty depending on how it evolves the pandemic and the risk that growth will be uneven.
"The region is going to need to invest significantly in green infrastructure and in strengthening the social safety net and education," said Werner, who believes that the educational gap could widen significantly as a result of this crisis.
The vice president of CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, Pablo Sanguinetti, agreed in warning of the "tremendous" increase in inequality in the region due to the pandemic and pointed to the need to strengthen institutions to make good use of the resources that arrive and overcome this crisis. External source
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