[Apropos Doug's remark that Casandras might think about switching their focus to Latin America]
[BTW, I always do a double take when I see that Colombia continues to be ranked among the best performing economies in Latin America over the last 15 years. In such reports, the war never gets a mention; in reports on the war, the economic progress never get mentioned. At first I assumed this was just another neo-liberal house of mirrors, where great macro-economic numbers for investors are the direct result of immiseration; then the simultaneous advance of war and "progress" would make sense. But the economy seems to get the same praise from people with a social welfare perspective; economic progress seems to have been broad and to have substantially helped the workers. Which makes it look like the disconnect between war and economy reflects more a disconnect between the city and the countryside.]
Economic reform not generating employment in Latin America, U.N.
reports
Copyright © 1999 Nando Media
Copyright © 199 Associated Press
GENEVA (August 22, 1999 9:45 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) -
Economic growth and price stability in Latin America and the Caribbean
have failed to reduce unemployment or boost workers' earnings,
according to a new United Nations report.
Development in the region could stall if efforts are not made to
tackle rising unemployment rates and job insecurity, said the 149-page
report, which was being released Monday. It was written by Juan
Somavia of Chile, director-general of the International Labor
Organization.
Global economic troubles "will thwart growth in the region even
further," the report said. It predicted the regional economy will
shrink by 0.4 percent.
The study said unemployment in the region could hit 9.5 percent this
year. That would be higher than during the 1980s debt crisis, despite
a decade of economic reform and modernization.
Last year's region-wide unemployment rate was 8 percent.
The report singled out four countries - Chile, Bolivia, Costa Rica and
Colombia - where it said labor conditions, wages and unemployment
rates have improved.
But, the report said, labor problems increased in Argentina, Brazil,
Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela, where reforms were more recently
initiated.
In those countries, drastic public-sector job cuts and limited
private-sector job growth are contributing to the employment woes, the
report said. It said the private sector's share in total employment
was 28 percent last year, down from 32 percent in 1990.
Where jobs are being created, they are most often unofficial, the
report said - small-scale services, farming and temporary or part-time
work.
"Unfortunately, workers in this sector are almost never protected by
any laws, nor are they usually able to join recognized unions that
would protect their interests," the report said.
The report will be discussed at a meeting of 35 of the region's
countries in Lima, Peru beginning Tuesday.
Copyright © 1999 Nando Media