Staff writer
Latin American countries have the political will to stay on course with their economic and social reforms, as demonstrated by their swift response to the Asian financial crisis, the head of the Inter-American Development Bank said Monday.
IDB President Enrique Iglesias said in an interview that the Latin American region has made great progress in securing stability and reducing inflation, making it increasingly open to investment and trade. "We see the Asian crisis having some impact on our economies, but you see the countries acting quickly, acting very responsively to keep the course of action to defend their currencies and their present systems. "That means the political will (to preserve stability) is there and therefore, I believe the reforms in Latin America are here to stay," Iglesias said.