The Economic Situation in Latin America - March 2017

An Ipsos survey addressed at opinion leaders in Latin-America found a series of contrasts in the perceptions of the current and future economic situation in the region. According to the participants, Uruguay, Peru and Chile are facing the best current economic situation, while Argentina, Peru and Colombia rank first in terms of economic prospects in the next 12 months.

On that account, Peru stands out for facing a strong current and future economic situation, while Uruguay, Colombia and Chile are also found amongst the first in both rankings. In general, the present and future economies of the Pacific Alliance countries - Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico - receive a more favourable assessment than the Atlantic states.

Moreover, Mexico and Brazil's economic situations are expected to worsen in the coming year; 2 out of every 5 opinion leaders think the situation in Mexico is in decline. These results may reflect the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States of America. As expected, Venezuela's economy is viewed with the greatest concern.

An interesting phenomenon occurs in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as Argentina and Brazil, where opinion leaders are found to be more optimistic about their own countries economic future than the remaining participants. On the other hand, in Chile opinion leaders qualify their current economic situation as worse than the rest of participants.