Economic Crisis to Stump Latin American Growth

UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has released a report warning that growth in regions of Latin America will see a further dip going from 4.3 percent in 2011 to 3.7 percent in 2012.  Of course, not all nations are facing the same economic and political plight.  The significantly complicated state of the global economic environment, in particular the deep crisis of the Eurozone, most certainly impacts this region on "the real channel - exports, prices, foreign investment, remittances, and tourism - and the financial channel".  It is essential to look at the economic performance of developed nations, for a fall in activities could lead to a fall in demand for goods, thus negatively affecting regional exports and price of principal export products.

ECLAC presented some economic policy challenges that include:

• preparing for eventual deterioration of the international situation as a whole
• considering possible sudden changes and delay of the impact of macroeconomic policies
• designing a fiscal policy package for the protection of jobs

With these predictions in play, what will become of these Latin American nations?

-Georisa Chang

SOURCE: UN News Centre

Brazilian President Elect Dilma Rousseff Makes Gender Equality a Priority

Dilma Rousseff won Brazil's presidential race on Sunday night, making her the first woman in history to be elected to the position. Rousseff, 62, won with 56% of the country's votes and will take office on January 1. As a member of Brazil's Worker's Party, Rousseff's success was in part due to the support of her predecessor, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose popular social policies are expected to be continued by Rousseff's administration.

Rousseff is the eighth elected female president in Latin America and the Caribbean, and she will follow in the footsteps of many other prominent female leaders including Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica, and Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile. Bachelet was recently appointed head of U.N. Women, the United Nations body responsible for promoting gender equality in U.N. policy.

Despite these important advances for women in leadership throughout Latin America, many obstacles remain. In Brazil in particular, the proportion of women to men in politics is still very low. Many hope that Rousseff's historic election will help bring women's issues to the fore of international politics.

Rousseff has widely stated that she believes gender equality is one of the foundations of democracy. After her win on Sunday night she said, "I would like for fathers and mothers to look into their daughters' eyes today and tell them: 'Yes, women can.' I would like to register my first post-election commitment: to honour Brazilian women so that this unprecedented fact becomes a natural event."

-Elizabeth Newton

SOURCE: The Guardian