Raúl Montalvo, Director of EGADE Business School, Guadalajara, participated in the international conference of the Latin American Alliance of Business Schools.

By FABRICIO MORENO REYES | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Experts from EGADE Business School and other business schools participated in the international conference  “Latin American Economic Outlook”, sharing their forecasts for 2021.

In the virtual event, organized by the Latin American Alliance for Business Schools (ALADEN), Raúl Montalvo, Director of EGADE Business School, Guadalajara, addressed Mexico’s macroeconomic framework during the pandemic.

“The country has genuinely suffered a decline in its economic activity; last year alone, it fell 8.6%, a figure that has not been seen since 1932,” he stated.

Mexico, he observed, has signed free-trade agreements with over 40 countries, but approximately 75% of its income relies on trade with the United States.

Therefore, Montalvo pointed out the need to diversify Mexico’s exports and reduce its dependence on the US market.

Margarida Gutiérrez, adjunct professor in the area of Finance and Management Control at COPPEAD, presented the economic policies adopted in Brazil and the current fiscal challenge resulting from the health crisis.

She indicated that, even though economic support policies achieved a V-shaped recovery in the Brazilian economy, the deficit and public debt have grown significantly.

Kurt Burneo, professor at CENTRUM PUCP, described the post-COVID-19 economic challenges in Peru, a country with the severest contraction in Latin America.

He estimated that the country will recover 100% of its production by the end of 2021, partly owing to the investment of 20% of its GDP in economic incentives.

Richard Obuchi, professor at the Center for Public Policy and the International Center for Energy and the Environment at IESA School of Management, explained that Venezuela’s economic activity has plummeted 86% in 7 years.

In 2020, he stated, the country’s GDP contraction was estimated at over 30%, which can be attributed to the drop in oil production and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Watch the complete conference here.