In many ways, Latin America is starting 2017 with signs of progress and hope. Colombia recently ended a 50-year war that killed 230,000 people and displaced more than 6 million. The historic peace deal between the government Farc rebel group was signed in December last year – revised after a referendum initially rejected the deal – and it is hoped it will bring stability and development to the country.
Indeed, there has been notable social and economic progress throughout the region; more than 100 million people have been lifted out of poverty since the early 2000s, and the economy is forecast to grow by 1.8% in 2017, and continue expanding in 2018.
But there are still significant social challenges facing the region of 640 million people. Though more than 90 million people moved up into the middle class in the last decade, in 2015 and 2016 there was a rise in the number of poor women and men. Income inequality remains 65% higher than in high-income countries.
So how can Latin America continue to get people out of poverty and reduce inequality? How can a movement for gender equality make real gains? And how can indigenous groups defend their rights and be included in decisions?
Join an expert panel to discuss this year’s economic and social challenges in the current global context.
The panel
José Antonio Ocampo, professor and director of the Economic and Political Development Concentration at Columbia University, New York, US
José was previously the UN’s under-secretary general for economic and social affairs, executive secretary for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. He was minister of finance and public credit and agriculture and rural development in his native Colombia
Diego Sánchez-Ancochea, director, Latin American Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK @dsanco
Diego is the director of the Latin American Centre and associate professor in the political economy of Latin America
Gioconda Belli, Nicaraguan writer, president of Nicaragua’s Pen International, Managua, Nicaragua @GiocondaBelliP
Gioconda is a writer and political activist. She was involved in the Sandinista revolution in the 80s but is now an open critic of the current president
Camila Bustos, researcher at Dejusticia and Nivela, Bogotá, Colombia @MaCamilaBustos @Dejusticia
Camila works as a researcher on climate change, business and human rights, and the human rights movement
