Video: Disaster Recovery — The Future of Multilaterals in Latin America
Video: Disaster Recovery — The Future of Multilaterals in Latin America
Experts discussed how organizations such as the IMF and the IDB can adapt their approach to Latin America going forward.
Speakers:
- Otaviano Canuto, Principal, Center for Macroeconomics and Development
- Nancy Lee, Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development
- Bosco Marti, Former Executive Director for Mexico and the Dominican Republic, Inter-American Development Bank
- Cecilia Tornaghi, Managing Editor, Americas Quarterly (moderator)
Latin America is one the hardest hit economic regions by the COVID-19 pandemic, with regional GDP expected to contract by 9.4 percent in 2020, per the International Monetary Fund. With this in mind, experts on an AS/COA panel discussed how institutions such as the IDB and the IMF can adapt their approaches to lending in the region. Nancy Lee said the Center for Global Development predicts international financial institutions will have to direct between $200 and 300 billion to Latin America, in addition to the 10 percent of countries’ GDP they supply via stimulus and social payments. Otaviano Canuto talked about how calls for debt restructuring are more accepted now but reminded attendees that these organizations are “helpers, not saviors.” Bosco Marti said the election for the next president of the IDB, the first virtual vote in the history of the organization, still needs the required quorum to go ahead with the vote.
