Sailing Calm in a Stormy Sea? Latin America's Response to Global Financial Turmoil and the Food Price Crisis

May 21, 2008

Featuring 
The Latin-American Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee (LASFRC) 

Including

Liliana Rojas-Suarez: President, LASFRC; Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development 
Guillermo Calvo: Former Chief Economist, Inter-American Development Bank 
Claudio Contador: Former Professor, Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 
Guillermo Chapman: Former Minister of Planning and Economic Policy, Panama 
Roque Fernandez: Former Minister of Finance, Argentina 
Pablo Guidotti: Former Vice-Minister of Finance, Argentina 
Ernesto Talvi: Former Chief Economist, Central Bank of Uruguay 
Roberto Zahler: Former President, Central Bank of Chile 

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 
10:30 a.m.--12:00 p.m. 

at 
Hilton Washington Embassy Row 
Ambassador Room 
2015 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 
Closest Metro: Dupont Circle (Red Line) 

Latin America is showing strong resilience in the midst of a number of adverse global shocks, running from the financial turmoil in the U.S. and other advanced markets to the rise in oil prices and the food crises. Indeed, in most Latin American countries, local banking systems remain sound, corporations remain liquid and export growth remains strong thanks to high commodity prices. But we must ask, are the good times in the region helping to build the foundations for long-term growth? Or will the region face a reversal of fortunes after the international environment stabilizes? Can the region effectively deal with the increased food prices that are hurting the poor the most? Can we still talk of a Latin American region or have countries become so differentiated that regional aggregates are now irrelevant? 

These are among the questions that the Latin America Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee, a group of former senior Latin American policymakers, will answer during the discussion.

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