The Dominican Republic will continue to lead economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean this year, with an expansion of 5,5% according to estimates by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which on Thursday (12.4.2019) reduced its projection for the region to 1,3% from 1,7%.
Along with the Dominican Republic, whose result was revised downwards from the 5,7% forecast in December 2018, is Panama, which went from 5,6% to an estimate of 5,4% for 2019.
The economic expansion of both nations would be the result of a prosperous economy of the United States, which stands out as one of their main trading partners.
Bolivia completes the podium, once again ranking as the country with the best economic growth in South America, with an estimate - according to the new ECLAC report - that remains at 4,3% for 2019.
The new estimate for 2019 is influenced by the complex external scenario and the domestic dynamics that have been observed in the countries of the region.
"The main risks to the region's economic performance in 2019 remain a lower global growth rate, the sluggish dynamics of world trade, and the financial conditions facing emerging economies," the commission said.
According to ECLAC, economic activity in South America will increase from 0,5% growth in 2018 to 1,1% in 2019, while Central America will grow by 3,1% in 2019.
Specifically, for the two main economies in the region, Mexico and Brazil, the organization reduced its projection to 1,7% (2,1%) and 1,8% (2,0%) respectively.
In the case of the Brazilian economy, ECLAC sees a slow recovery after the severe economic crisis it faced in previous years.
The commission also lowered estimates for the economies of Paraguay to 4,0% from 4,2%; Uruguay to 1,0% (from 1,5%), Ecuador to 0,4% (0,9%); Costa Rica to 2,8% (2,9%); El Salvador to 2,3% (2,4%); and Honduras to 3,5% (3,6%).
According to the report, only seven countries in the region have maintained the same growth forecast as last December. These are: Peru (3,6%), Colombia (3,3%), Chile (3,3%), Bolivia (4,3%), Argentina (-1,8%), Cuba (1,0%) and Guatemala (3,0%).
For Argentina, ECLAC maintains the red figures due mainly to the effects of the currency crisis that has been affecting the country since last year.
At the bottom of the list are the economies of Venezuela and Nicaragua, which will see a drop of -16,0% and -5,0% respectively.
In the case of Venezuela, mired in a deep economic and political crisis under the government of Nicolás Maduro, this implies a contraction of 44.3% in the last five years.
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