Peru’s economy quickly regained its normal level in December 2020 – Finance minister

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Peruvian Economy and Finance Minister Waldo Mendoza on Thursday, February 18th, affirmed that Peruvian GDP quickly recovered its normal level in December 2020, when it registered a slight growth of 0.5%, due to the measures implemented by the Peruvian government last year.

“The recovery in December and the one that was coming in January have to do with the investment of resources made by the State. The GDP of December 2020 is already higher than that of 2019; that is wonderful because in a short time we have regained the level we used to observe in a normal year,” he expressed.

“We have to acknowledge the excellent macroeconomic policy response we put in place last year. Those 20 points of GDP that were invested by the public sector, such as Reactiva Peru, and the sacrifice of the people, who withdrew money from their Service Time Compensation (CTS) and Pension Fund Administrators (AFP), explain the rapid recovery that the Peruvian economy has been experiencing, climbing from a 40% decline in April last year to a 0.5% growth in December,” he indicated.

During a webinar, Minister Mendoza said that if the second COVID-19 wave had not emerged, GDP growth projection would be standing between 10% and 11% for this year, without any major difficulty.

“We must face the second wave; from our own experience, we learned that full lockdowns hurt the economy too much. That is why this quarantine is different, and it is focused on provinces; economic activity will be somehow affected, but not as much as in previous months,” he indicated.

“Last year’s State support has kept the productive apparatus almost intact, so once we began to reopen activities, the economy recovered very quickly,” he added.

Likewise, the high-ranking official stressed that —during the current lockdown— each vulnerable family is being provided with a financial grant of S/600 (around US$164), food delivery, and the implementation of itinerant markets.

Minister Mendoza also reported that his portfolio is working with the Ministry of Labor to craft labor policies that contribute to economic growth.

“The macroeconomic policy is working to minimize the effects of this quarantine, in such a way that we maintain a (GDP growth) projection between 9% and 10%,” he emphasized.