How will Latin America and the Caribbean navigate the economic, social, and political challenges in the second half of 2022? As global financial conditions tighten, inflation tests the region’s economies, and policymakers try to preserve macroeconomic stability, the region is also facing a shift in the political landscape. Across the continent, citizens' frustration with the status quo and dissatisfaction with elected leaders' inability to deliver has opened the path to new and diverse left-leaning leaders who are challenging the existing economic model across the hemisphere. Meanwhile, the gains made towards economic recovery stand to be tested in the coming months as inflation persists, commodity prices rise, and economic activity slows. Despite domestic and international challenges, favorable economic conditions in the region, such as the reopening of hospitality and travel sectors and increased commodity demand, are positive indicators for growth. In June, the International Monetary Fund raised their April prediction for the region’s 2022 growth from 2.5% to 3.0%. Social conditions continue to change as well, as pandemic recovery reveals the long-term negative impacts on education, health systems, and living standards.
On September 1, Alejandro Werner, director of the Georgetown Americas Institute; Michael Shifter, adjunct professor at Georgetown University; Seynabou Sakho, director of strategy and operations for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank; and Eduardo Yeyati, visiting fellow at the Georgetown Americas Institute, discussed the upcoming economic, social, and political opportunities and challenges on the horizon in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Featuring
Eduardo Levy Yeyati is dean of the School of Government at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires and the founder and faculty director of its Center for Evidence-based Policy (CEPE-Di Tella). He is also lead researcher at Argentina's National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and founding partner of Elypsis, an economic research firm in Argentina. Prior to that, he was senior adviser to the Office of the Chief of Staff in Argentina (where he led the program Argentina 2030), director at the Bank of Investment and Trade Credit in 2016, head of Latin American Research and Emerging Markets Strategy at Barclays Capital from 2007 to 2010, financial sector adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank from 2006 to 2007, and chief economist of the Central Bank of Argentina in 2002. He was also honorary president of the National Council of Production and CIPPEC, an Argentine think tank. His research focuses on banking, emerging markets finance, monetary and exchange rate policy, international financial architecture, and growth in developing economies. He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Seynabou Sakho is the director of strategy and operations for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank. Sakho was most recently the country director for Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama). In her position, she oversaw the programs, research, and funding of the six nations. Sakho, who is from Senegal, joined the World Bank in 2004 and has held several positions, including as economist for Brazil, Jamaica, and Bolivia; economic advisor to the Operations Policy and Country Services Unit; and advisor to the managing director’s Office. Most recently, she served as manager of macroeconomics and fiscal management for East and Central Africa. She earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in finance and economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has also authored and co-authored several publications on economic growth, private-sector development, and the effect of financial restrictions on small and medium-sized enterprises.
Michael Shifter is an adjunct professor at the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) and former president of the Inter-American Dialogue. Shifter held senior positions at the Dialogue for nearly three decades, including twelve as president. He currently serves as senior fellow at the organization. Prior to joining the Dialogue, Shifter directed the Latin American and Caribbean program at the National Endowment for Democracy and, before that, the Ford Foundation’s governance and human rights program in the Andean region and Southern Cone. In the 1980s, he was representative in Brazil with the Inter-American Foundation and worked at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Latin American Program. Shifter graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Oberlin College and holds a M.A. in sociology from Harvard University, where he taught Latin American development and politics for four years.
Alejandro Werner is the founding director of the Georgetown Americas Institute and a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute. He recently completed almost nine years as director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund. Prior to that appointment, he was undersecretary of finance and Public Credit in Mexico’s Finance Ministry and held several positions in that ministry and the Central Bank. He also taught at leading universities in Mexico, Spain, and the United States. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BA in economics from ITAM.