The International Monetary Fund (IMF) considers that, in 2016, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean will be the sub-regions of Latin America most benefiting from the global economic situation.

For the second largest Latin American economy, the IMF forecasts growth of 2.4% in 2016 and expects it to reach 2.6% in 2017. Regarding Central America, for 2016, forecasts point to Panama leading economic growth with 6.1 %, Guatemala grows by 4%, El Salvador by 2.5%, Honduras grows by 3.5% and Costa Rica by 4.2%. As for the Caribbean, the IMF points to growth of 5.4% and 2.3% in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, respectively.

Among the major oil exporting countries, Colombia will grow 2.5% and Venezuela will recover from 2017.

The IMF also reveals that Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina show negative growth, but, on the other hand, Chile and Peru show growth of 1.5% and 3.7%, respectively, in the current year.

The results presented during 2015 by Latin American countries are in line with IMF forecasts, with the exception of Brazil. The organization revealed that the less positive scenario in Latin America is explained by the drop in the prices of raw materials and oil, as well as the political situation.

For the general scenario of the Latin American and Caribbean economy, the IMF lowered its growth forecasts. In 2016, the region’s economy is expected to end the year with a negative growth rate of 0.5%, contrasting with the 1.5% growth that the organization predicts for 2017.