Skip to main content
Available in EnglishEspañolPortuguês

ECLAC Will Release New Growth Projections for Latin American and Caribbean Countries in the Wake of the COVID-19 Crisis

18 April 2020|Announcement

The UN Regional Commission’s Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena, will hold a virtual press conference on Tuesday, April 21, from the organization’s central headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will present Special Report COVID-19 No. 2 on monitoring the economic and social effects of the current crisis stemming from the coronavirus’s impact in the region – entitled Assessing the Effects of COVID-19 to Plan the Recovery – next Tuesday, April 21.

This new document, the first issue of which was released on April 3, will this time include an update of the economic growth projections for the region and each of its countries, which take into account the consequences the pandemic could have for the performance of Latin American and Caribbean economies in 2020.

The report will be unveiled via a virtual press conference led by Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, from Santiago, Chile, at 11 a.m. local time (UTC/GMT -4).

It will be transmitted live on the institution’s website and its social media accounts on Twitter (@eclac_un) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/eclac). Journalists will be able to submit their questions ahead of time to the email address conferenciaprensa@cepal.org, and ECLAC’s Executive Secretary will respond to them once she has finished presenting the document. Questions will only be taken until 11:30 a.m. local time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit at a weak moment for Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of its economic and social performance. The region grew at an estimated rate of just 0.1% in 2019. As a result of the pandemic, the forecasts for 2020 have been downwardly revised to a significant extent. Details on the magnitude of the decline in regional economic activity and that of each country will be provided on Tuesday, April 21, in the Executive Secretary’s presentation.

Members of the media are invited to participate in the virtual press conference. Journalists must connect via ECLAC’s website or its social media accounts on Twitter (@eclac_un) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/eclac) as of 11 a.m. local time (UTC/GMT -4). It is requested that questions related to the topic of the press conference be sent ahead of time to the email address conferenciaprensa@cepal.org. Questions will only be taken until 11:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, April 21.

The full electronic version of this document by ECLAC, along with a press release with a breakdown of the updated growth figures, will be available on ECLAC’s website and on the webpage of the COVID-19 Observatory in Latin America and the Caribbean on Tuesday, April 21, as soon as the press conference has concluded.



What: Launch of ECLAC’s Special Report COVID-19 No. 2, Assessing the Effects of COVID-19 to Plan the Recovery.

Who:

  • Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary.

When: Tuesday, April 21, 2020, 11 a.m. local time in Chile (GMT -4).

Where: Virtual connection via ECLAC’s website.

 

For queries and to arrange interviews, contact ECLAC’s Public Information Unit.

Email: prensa@cepal.org; Telephone: (56 2) 2210 2040.