Panelists

• Juan José Echavarría, Governor, Central Bank of Colombia
• Arminio Fraga, Co-Founder & CEO, Gávea Investimentos; former President of the Central Bank of Brazil
• Susan Segal, President & CEO, Americas Society/Council of the Americas (moderator)

“The case for opening the economy is very clear,” said Colombian Central Bank Governor Juan José Echevarría at the Latin American Business Conference 2019, making the case for increased regional integration and trade. Similary, former Brazilian Central Bank President Arminio Fraga suggested Brazil should join economic blocs like the Pacific Alliance. The two also discussed different areas of potential reform in their respective countries.

Learn more about conference co-organizers, Young Professionals of the Americas.

Speakers:

• Armando Senra, Head of Latin America and Iberia, BlackRock
• Paul Kilby, Deputy U.S. Credit Editor, IFR Refinitiv (moderator)

Without structural reforms, Brazil cannot unleash its economic potential, said BlackRock's Armando Senra at the Latin America Business Conference 2019. In conversation with journalist Paul Kilby, Senra discussed the internal and external factors affecting the region's progress, from populism to trade negotiations. Fragmentation of markets is a key challenge in the region, Senra noted, explaining how Latin America can work toward deeper cross-border integration to develop capital markets.

Learn more about conference co-organizers, Young Profesionals of the Americas.

Keynote:

• Alejandro Werner, Director, Western Hemisphere Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Latin America's GDP is set to grow 2 percent in 2019, a jump from 1 percent last year. "It’s a reflection of the Brazilian economy expanding at a faster pace and Argentina contracting by less than it did in 2018," said the IMF's Alejandro Werner at the Latin America Business Conference 2018. Werner went on to explain the various factors affecting growth, from a move away from 2018's global financial tightening to the change in commodity prices.

Learn more about conference co-rganizers, Young Profesionals of the Americas.

Speakers:

• Alejandro Werner, Director, Western Hemisphere Department, International Monetary Fund
• Gerardo Rodriguez, Managing Director of Emerging Markets, BlackRock (interviewer)

The International Monetary Fund's Alejandro Werner returned to AS/COA for an annual outlook on the region's economic prospects. The fund's Western Hemisphere director covered the new administrations in Brazil and Mexico, as well as Argentina's economic reforms in an electoral year. Werner highlighted Bolsonaro's economic team opening up one of Latin America's most closed markets and noted that Mexico's attempts to curb fuel theft were sensible. He cautioned, however, that these government have been in office for few months and thus any conclusive assessment of their policies is premature. Werner also pointed out that if Argentina elects a new administration, the current IMF deal with the country would be reviewed.

Speakers:

• Iván Duque, President of Colombia
• Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, Contributor, CNBC (interviewer)

Colombian President Iván Duque said it wasn't hard to step up and denounce the embattled Nicolás Maduro, comparing watching the crisis in Venezuela to hearing a neighbor beat his wife every night. When you see the neighbor in the elevator the next day, said Duque, you can’t simply pretend things are normal. “It was my moral duty to denounce that dictator [Nicolás Maduro],” said Duque at an event in Washington, DC, adding that he hopes Maduro is eventually tried by the International Criminal Court. He said that, more than discuss what will happen to Maduro, the international community should be focused on doing everything it can to bring about the end of the dictatorship. He called on both the Chinese and the Venezuelan military to recognize Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's interim commander-in-chief.

On domestic issues, Duque and Caruso-Cabrera covered everything from boosting Colombian GDP not through oil exports but the creative industries (aka the Orange Economy), treating the coca problem wholistically, involving Afro-Colombian communities in state projects, and the need for Colombia’s special transitional justice court system to adequately mete out proper justice for former FARC commanders found responsible for crimes. He also said he did not begrudge his original mentor, former President and now Senator Álvaro Uribe, for publicly disagreeing with him on his tax plan. Disagreements in democracy and even within a party are healthy, Duque said, adding that Uribe’s decision to return to serve in Congress after his presidency—as John Quincy Adams also did—was patriotic. Duque pushed back on the characterization of him as from the right politically. Security is a public good, he said, and a lack of it disproportionately affects the poor. Entrepreneurship simply makes common sense. He talked at length about how unregulated market access can open the doors to “voracious capitalism,” and said that one of the aims of his administration is to work on “closing the gap between rich and poor and talking about social justice. Whether that’s right or left, I don't know or I don’t care. I want to make Colombia a better place.”

Keynote speaker:

• Alfredo Cornejo, Governor of Mendoza, Argentina

Panel:

• Alberto Bernal, Chief of Strategy, XP Investments
• Joydeep Mukherji, Head of Sovereign Ratings in Latin America and the Caribbean, S&P Global Ratings
• Casey Reckman, Director Emerging Markets Economics Group, Credit Suisse
• Juan Cruz Díaz, Special Advisor, Americas Society/Council of the Americas and Managing Director, Cefeidas Group (moderator)

All eyes are on Argentina's economic recovery as the country prepares for a presidential election on October 27. An expert panel in New York agreed the country's prospects look to improve in 2019 over the previous year, as the currency stabilizes and inflation drops. Although S&P dropped Argentina's rating to a B last November, Joydeep Mukherji said the ratings agency's stable outlook for the country is more telling. The forecast, however, depends on broad policy continuity under the next government, agreed the panelists. Mauricio Macri's chances at reelection will depend on the peso's performance, noted Alberto Bernal, who projects the election will ultimately come down to Macri and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner—if she runs for president—and is unlikely to be upended by an outsider. Aside from maintaining a path of macroeconomic reform, Casey Reckman highlighted governability will be key for the next administration, which would do well to tackle pension and labor reform as well. 

Before the discussion, Mendoza Governor Alfredo Cornejo gave a presentation on the province's progress in fostering a good environment for investors, in spite of Argentina's economic challenges. Cornejo spoke about measures his adminstration took to provide basic services and create smart regulations for companies like Uber in recent years. "Mendoza and Cordoba are the only provinces in Argentina that did not default when Argentina defaulted," he said. "We are careful with contracts."