Latin America News
LAST UPDATE: June 14, 2025
Caribbean must urgently prioritize boosting growth potential – IMF DMD Clarke
During a keynote at the Caribbean Development Bank’s William G. Demas Memorial Lecture (June 10, 2025), IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke called on Caribbean nations to urgently adopt productivity-enhancing structural reforms, strengthen macroeconomic resilience, and boost investment in digitalization, renewable energy, human capital, and infrastructure (imf.org, stabroeknews.com).
Insight
Clarke warned that Caribbean growth potential has halved since the early 2000s due to near-zero productivity growth. He emphasized that reversing this decline requires digital regulatory reform, more vocational training, clean-energy transitions, streamlined business environments, and robust public-private infrastructure investment, all underpinned by fiscal discipline and macroeconomic stability. Without decisive reform, the region risks falling further behind advanced economies.
Rise of Ultra Conservative Puts Chile’s Stock Rally to the Test
Investors are reevaluating Chile’s stock market rally as a new ultra-conservative presidential candidate gains momentum, potentially shifting economic and social policy direction (npr.org, bloomberg.com).
Insight
The market rally driven by conservative sentiment may be vulnerable as the rise of an ultra-right candidate introduces policy uncertainty. The event highlights the tension between political ideology and investor confidence in emerging markets.
Tariff-Hit Factory, Wholesale Sales in Canada Fell in April
Canadian manufacturing sales dropped 2.8% in April—the largest monthly decline since October 2023—while wholesale sales also slumped, mainly because of U.S. tariff pressures .
Insight
The data underscores the real impact of U.S. steel/aluminium tariffs on Canadian producers. The decline in sales reflects lost exports and rising input costs, potentially dampening growth in the trade-dependent sector.
Electoral uncertainty clouds Bolivia’s path to reform
Bolivia’s August 2025 general elections face uncertainty amid economic crisis and social unrest. The government has delayed several key reforms due to political instability and resistance from opposition parties and unions.
Insight
The fragile political climate poses a significant obstacle to economic recovery. Without electoral clarity and social consensus, structural reforms—particularly in energy, subsidies, and fiscal policy—may be postponed, risking long-term stagnation.
