Americas Quarterly Managing Edtor Cecilia Tornaghi gave her welcoming remarks at the 8th Annual AS/COA Women's Hemispheric Network Conference in New York, including a word on behalf of President and CEO Susan Segal. Senior Vice President of Global Communications at Philip Morris International Marian Salzman then gave a keynote speech on her own career trajectory, highlighting how she got to her current position and the obstacles she overcame on the way. Salzman emphasized the importance of being honest with yourself, not expecting to have it all, acknowleding your right to exist in the workplace, and taking a step back to recharge. “In every way, drive change,” she said.

El Presidente Lenín Moreno de Ecuador recibió la Insigna de Oro de Americas Society entregada por Presidenta y CEO de AS/COA Susan Segal. Moreno reafirmó su apoyo hacia la cooperación multilateral y los mercados libres, rechazando el modelo actual de Venezuela. Enfatizó luego la importancia del diálogo, la inversión, y el desarrollo para toda la región, destacando que en su país se lidera dejando que los negocios sean libres. Dijo también que es importante que los líderes se turnen, y que no pretende liderar para siempre, añadiendo que su única meta es dejar a su país en una mejor posición de la que tenía cuando entró a la presidencia. 

Panelistas:

• Iván Duque, Presidente de Colombia
• Sebastián Piñera, Presidente de Chile
• Martín Vizcarra, Presidente de Perú
• Graciela Márquez, Secretaria de Economía de México 
• Marcelo Claure, CEO, SoftBank Group International (moderador)

En la discusión que AS/COA organizó, los presidentes de las naciones de la Alianza del Pacífico Chile, Colombia y Perú, también con la secretaria de economía de México, compartieron los planes de desarrollo y trabajo de sus respectivos países, y cómo se están preparando de la mejor manera para la cuarta revolución industrial. El Presidente Piñera de Chile destacó la importancia de no perder tiempo haciendo cambios de innovación, asímismo la Secretaria de Economía Márquez delineó la urgencia de ser más eficientes y más ecológicos. Presidente Iván Duque destacó en particular la importancia de incorporar las artes y cultura en la mezcla con la tecnología e ingenieria, para desarrollar de todos ángulos la economía y sociedad. Presidente Vizcarra de Perú también destacó la importancia de juntar las fuerzas y ser inclusivos para abordar de mejor manera la nueva ola tecnológica. 

In this talk with the presidents of the Pacific Alliance, heads of state from Chile, Colombia, and Peru, along with the economy minister of Mexico, shared their views on the future of work and how their countries are preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. President Piñera of Chile compared the technological shift as a wave ready to crash ashore, adding that it's generous with countries ready to take advantage of it but that Latin America is not sufficiently prepared. His counterpart from Colombia, Iván Duque, stressed the importance of including arts and culture, as demonstrated by his country's Orange Economy movement, in strategies to make the most of this revolution. And Peru's Martín Vizcarra and Mexico's Graciela Márquez emphasized the need for an inclusive approach to the technological wave.

Panelists:

• Clay Lowery, Executive Vice President, Institute of International Finance 
• Eric Parrado Herrera, Chief Economist and General Manager of the Research Department, Inter-American Development Bank 
• Atsi Sheth, Managing Director in Credit Strategy and Research team and Chief Credit Officer for the Americas, Moody’s 
• Krishna Srinivasan, Deputy Director, Western Hemisphere Department, International Monetary Fund 

Latin America's economic growth has been sluggish due to decades of delay on structural reforms and inadequate monetary policies, but today's global economic risks make the outlook for the region gloomier. Per the IDB's projections, for a region where growth averaged 5.6 percent in 2007, the rate fell to 1 percent in 2018 and could be around 0.5 or 0.6 percent in 2019, said Eric Parrado Herrera at a COA event in DC. External risks such as Brexit could also have an impact at a time when there's a need for new sources of growth. Countries' large fiscal deficits and increasing dollarization makes them less resilient to another global crisis. U.S.-China tensions can affect the region if the trade giants' economic growth declines by more than 1 percent. "Those factors together can result in significant impact in Latin America," said IMF's Krishna Srinivasan.

But boosting growth in the region is not just about macroeconomic policies and global risks: governance, technology and innovation opportunities, human capital, and the skills gap are all factors that have a crucial role in bringing future prosperity to the region, said Moody's Atsi Sheth. Increased regional integration, the creation of strong financial institutions, and the fight against corruption are all positivie signs, said Clay Lowery from the Institute of International Finance.

Learn more about this September 18 program.