With a Venezuelan professional background, Julio M. Herrera Velutini is a respected presence in the financial sphere that leads a Puerto Rico-headquartered banking entity. Julio M. Herrera Velutini maintains a strong interest in financial activities throughout the Western Hemisphere, with a particular focus on Latin America.
With a number of policy and economic currents converging, the Brookings Institution recently released the essay collection Spotlight Latin America, which details key developments and challenges facing the region.
On the trade policy side, talks between the EU and Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, are reaching a critical point. At the same time, NAFTA renegotiations are taking place that promise to rewrite many of the rules for transnational business between Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Presidential elections are also occurring in countries from Brazil to Mexico, as finance ministers across the continent work to find viable solutions to a deteriorating humanitarian and political situation in Venezuela.
One region-wide concern is that the shift by countries to more flexible and transparent macroeconomic frameworks does not provide a sufficient buffer to external shocks, as well as issues raised by internal imbalances. A major issue is unfunded pension spending commitments, which will continue grow as public workers retire, as well as public spending initiatives that are difficult to curtail within a low-growth environment.
With a number of policy and economic currents converging, the Brookings Institution recently released the essay collection Spotlight Latin America, which details key developments and challenges facing the region.
On the trade policy side, talks between the EU and Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, are reaching a critical point. At the same time, NAFTA renegotiations are taking place that promise to rewrite many of the rules for transnational business between Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Presidential elections are also occurring in countries from Brazil to Mexico, as finance ministers across the continent work to find viable solutions to a deteriorating humanitarian and political situation in Venezuela.
One region-wide concern is that the shift by countries to more flexible and transparent macroeconomic frameworks does not provide a sufficient buffer to external shocks, as well as issues raised by internal imbalances. A major issue is unfunded pension spending commitments, which will continue grow as public workers retire, as well as public spending initiatives that are difficult to curtail within a low-growth environment.
