Reactivation and development: the great commitment of Latin America and the Caribbean

From the viewpoint of economic development, the first half of the 1980s has been lost for most of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Unfortunately, if the present economic and social conditions persist, many of them will also have to lose the second half, for the declines registered in the last five years in per capita income are so marked that it will be difficult for the region to recover by 1990 the level which it had already reached in 1980. Consequently, as matters stand it is imperative to promote first of all the recovery and then the sustained growth of the economies. This calls for the application of suitable domestic policies, the existence of a favourable external environment, and active international and regional co-operation.