AFP, Washington :
Latin America’s recovery from the pandemic crisis is lagging the rest of the world and the economy will not return to its pre-pandemic level until 2024, the IMF warned Thursday.
The persistent health crisis caused by Covid-19 remains a concern, and though growth has accelerated, helped by stronger recoveries in trading partners, the region will need a “short-term shot” of support, said Alejandro Werner, head of the International Monetary Fund’s Western Hemisphere Department.
The region’s economy contracted by 7.0 percent in 2020, “the sharpest in the world” and far exceeding the global economy’s slowdown of 3.3 percent, Werner said in a blog post.
Regional growth is expected to rebound by 4.6 percent, below the 5.8 percent estimated for other emerging markets excluding China, according to the latest regional economic outlook.
