QCOSTARICA – The Central American region experiences very different realities as far as the rebound of the economies is concerned.
In the current context, the performance of the markets of the isthmus is directly related to the management that they have made of the main external and internal factors during the crisis generated by the pandemic, including the advance of vaccination.
In this way, El Salvador is heading as the most thriving economy, with respect to the performance of 2020, followed by Honduras and very closely by Guatemala. Costa Rica ranks as the penultimate growing economy, only surpassing Nicaragua.
This was revealed by a study prepared by the Economic Commission for Central America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The virtue of the Salvadoran rebound responds to the gradual recovery of consumption and investment, hand in hand with support programs for the productive sector, the strengthening of public-private alliances to encourage investment in infrastructure and the good rate of vaccination.
The Honduran economy, in turn, is driven by the reactivation of local economic activity – despite the lag in vaccination – and the expansion of the economy of the United States, its main trading partner.
While Guatemala stands out for the management of the central government deficit (3.5% of GDP) derived from the gradual recovery of income and for the current account surplus of 2.5% of GDP, driven by the rise in consumption.
In the case of Costa Rica, the medium economic rebound is due to the different realities faced by some activities. For example, while the free zones boost the manufacturing sector, the fall in tourism hits related sectors such as hotels and restaurants, despite the good progress of vaccination.
On the other hand, the social and political polarization that Nicaragua faces and the economic consequences of the health crisis appear as strong obstacles to the full recovery and stability of the country.