PERU WILL LEAD GROWTH IN LATIN AMERICA

(NNN-ANDINA) - Latin America will be able to enter a sustainable growth trend and Peru will become one of the new leaders of the region in the medium term, reported Moody’s Economy.com. "Brazil will become the new leader in the region, followed by Peru, Chile and Colombia," said senior economist for Latin America at Moody's Economy.com, Alfredo Coutino. Mexico and Central America has lagged behind because of their closer economic linkages with the U.S. economy while Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador will advance if they can resolve the bottlenecks and their economies become more flexible, he stated. He forecast that Latin America will experience a new stage of expansion during the next decade with stronger structures and institutions. "This stage will begin with the global recovery from recession, achieving consistent growth rates of four percent in 2011," he said. According to Coutino, the region will be able to move toward a more sustainable growth path in the medium term, motivated by the potential capacity generated by new reforms. "The long-term growth of major leading countries will average five percent," he added. -- (NNN-ANDINA)