President Luis Lacalle Pou said that “maybe” the country will end with an economic growth of “more than 3.5%”, as he maintained in an interview with Telenoche (channel 4) this Wednesday. He assured that the projections that were made from the Executive Tower coincide with what is seen so far.
He also recalled that to the Minister of Economy, Arbeleche Lily, “they gave him more stick than the calls” when he predicted in February 2021 that Uruguay would grow 3.5%. “We are going to finish the year, as Azucena and the economic team said, perhaps, growing more than 3.5”, he remarked.
As it became known this Wednesday, in the third quarter of the year Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 2.7% compared to the immediately preceding quarter (April-June). On the other hand, in the inter-annual measurement, economic activity expanded 5.9% compared to the July-September 2020 period.
Lacalle Pou compared the economies of Argentina and Brazil, whose governments decided to confine the population and stop the engines of the economy. He pointed out that, in his opinion, that would mean, later, having more difficulties to resume the activity.
Business relationships
“It is not just China,” said Lacalle Pou, referring to the possibility of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Turkey.. “We formally received the possibility of starting a Free Trade Agreement with Turkey,” he said.
And he said that Uruguay must “open up to the world” in search of new markets, and thus be able to advance in relations with other countries, which allow opening the range of trade possibilities.
Regarding the flexibility of Mercosur, he said that “the three governments of the Broad Front expressed their intention but they never went to the steaks “. “We made a formal proposal; first in the peak to peak, in informal meetings, and then in meetings between foreign ministers with more formality. The same with the meetings between ministries of economy,” said the president.
On another topic, Lacalle Pou advanced the “incipient idea” to create a “model Hospital of Clinics” by 2030. He said that he presented the plan to the University of the Republic (Udelar) and that the idea will be to create a multiparty commission. “It is an old desire of all Uruguayans,” he remarked.
The president met with the rector of Udelar, Rodrigo Arim, to convey the idea to him. “Udelar has to make some decisions,” he said.
