Latin American Economy & Business - April 2016 (ISSN 1741-7430)

According to the 2015 Social Panorama of Latin America, published in March by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and The Carribbean (ECLAC), more than a decade of steady reductions in poverty rates may have come to an end last year. If this is more than a temporary blip, there are at least two implications: one is that the region may begin to see a moderate increase in social and political tensions, and second, that the strong growth of the middle classes, which has boosted consumer demand, may also be easing back.