United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ( Spanish: Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe, CEPAL, English: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC ) is a United Nations agency responsible for promoting economic and social development this region. Her work takes place mainly in the field of economic research.

Organization

The headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago, Chile, from where two lower seats are administered: one for Central America, based in Mexico City ( established 1957) and the second for the countries of the Caribbean, with headquarters in Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) ( 1966). It also has national offices in Bogotá (1952 ), Montevideo (1960), Brasília (1968 ), Buenos Aires (1974) and an office in Washington, DC (1950).

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean is divided in seven departments:

• Latin American Institute for Economic and Social Planning, ILPES (Spanish: Instituto Latinoamericano de Planificación Económica y Social)
• Department of entrepreneurial and productive development, DDPE (Spanish División de Desarrollo Empresarial y Productivo )
• Department of Natural Resources and Infrastructure, DRNI (Spanish División de Recursos Naturales e Infraestructura )
• Department of Sustainable Development and Human Settlements, DDSAH (Spanish División de Desarrollo y Sostenible Asentamientos Humanos )
• Department of Economic Development, DDE (Spanish División de Desarrollo Económico )
• Department of International Trade and Integration, DCII (Spanish División de Comercio Internacional e Integración )
• Department for Social Development, DDS (Spanish División de Desarrollo Social)
• Department of Statistics and Economic Forecasts, DEYPE (Spanish División de Estadística y Proyecciones Económicas )
• Department of Population and Development, (Spanish División de Desarrollo y Población ) on the frame of the Latin American Centre for Demography, CELADE (Spanish: Centro Latinoamericano de Demografía )

The budget for 2010-2011 was 162.5 million U.S. dollars, 72 % from the regular budget and 22 % of which came from extra-budgetary sources.

Since December 2008, Alicia Barcena Ibarra Executive Secretary of ECLAC.

Predecessor organization

The UN Economic and Social Council ( ECOSOC) in 1948 founded five regional economic commissions with the objective in the respective zones with the governments in matters of national and regional economic co-operate. The zones are Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific region, the Middle East and Latin America, the latter being the best known. 1984 their area was extended to also cover the Caribbean area.

Secretaries General

• Gustavo Martínez Cabañas (Mexico) 1948-1950
• Raúl Prebisch (Argentina ) 1950-1963
• José Antonio Mayobre (Venezuela), 1963-1967
• Carlos Quintana (Mexico) 1967-1972
• Enrique Iglesias (Uruguay ) 1972-1985
• Norberto González ( Argentina) 1985-1988
• Gert Rosenthal ( Guatemala) 1988-1998
• José Antonio Ocampo (Colombia ) 1998-2003
• José Luis Machinea (Argentina ) 2003-2008
• Alicia Barcena Ibarra (Mexico) in July 2008