LATIN AMERICA REGION NO BETTER OFF NOW

James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, painted a grim picture of poverty in Latin America, saying the region was no better off than it was more than two decades ago despite far-reaching economic reforms. His remarks were a dose of cold water in an otherwise upbeat meeting of finance ministers from Latin America, the US and Canada, where Michel Camdessus, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, reaffirmed the belief that Latin America's economies would grow a boisterous 4 per cent this year. Mr Wolfensohn noted that the gap between rich and poor in Latin America was the worst in the world, that 80 per cent of the region's 30m indigenous people lived in poverty and that 40m more people lived below the poverty line now than 20 years ago. The recent bloodless coup in Ecuador, he said, might reflect the threat against long term growth.