Hugo Perea

In the last five years, Paraguay’s economy grew at an annual average rate of around 5% - one of the highest in the region. This economic performance is especially remarkable considering it occurred in a rather volatile international environment, characterized by turbulent international financial markets, lower capital inflows to emerging economies and falling prices for metals and agricultural products. The Paraguayan economy was also affected by declining activity of some the region’s most significant trade partners.

Between 2002 and 2013, the Peruvian economy underwent a stage of fast and strong growth. During this period, the average annual growth rate was 6.1%. As a result, in a relatively short period of time, the per capita purchasing power of Peruvians nearly doubled and poverty declined by approximately 30 percentage points.