World Economic Forum on Latin America

Welcome to our live coverage of the World Economic Forum on Latin America 2018. We'll be here for the next two days, bringing you snippets from our live-streamed sessions, Agenda blogs, social media channels and other digital highlights.

For full details on the various ways to follow the meeting, including embedding the sessions on your own blog or website, take a look at this detailed guide.

The theme of the meeting is Latin America at a Turning Point: Shaping the New Narrative, with sessions focusing on skills, corruption, jobs, gender parity, economic and social inclusion - among other key topics.

Before then, here's a closer look at some of the themes that are likely to dominate discussions here in São Paulo.

3 ways this year’s extraordinary electoral cycle could reshape Latin America.

Latin America's largest city, São Paulo, was once among the region's most violent. The turnaround in the city's homicide rates is nothing short of remarkable.

The murder rate has dropped from a high of 52.5 per 100,000 in 1999 to just 6.1 per 100,000 today.

So what happened?

Take a look at this piece by Robert Muggah and Ilona Szabó de Carvalho to find out more.

Our first live session of this year's meeting - Latin America Update - is under way.

2018 brings with it six presidential elections in Latin America and with them the chance for 350 million Latin Americans to vote for change.

The three largest economies - Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico - will elect new presidents, as will Costa Rica, Paraguay and Venezuela.

But the elections take place against a background of social conflict, corruption scandals and weak economic growth.

In addition, support for democracy is on the wane. According to the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), it’s significantly lower in 2016/17 than in previous years. Trust in political parties is the lowest recorded by the survey.

How will the regional election cycle reshape national and regional power dynamics?

Taking part in this session are Daniel Zovatto, Regional Director, Latin America and the Caribbean, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance; Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado, Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Panama Government; Ricardo Villela Marino, Executive Vice-President and Member of the Board of Directors, Itaú Unibanco SA; Denise Dresser, Political Analyst, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM); Gustau Alegret, Director, US News, NTN24; Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

"In Latin America, the lack of an adequate pool of skilled workers is making it harder to overcome the middle-income trap," writes Monica Flores and Angel Melguizo, in this piece for our blog, Agenda.

With over four in 10 firms in Latin America saying they have difficulty finding workers with the right skills, what can be done to close the region's skills gap?

In an era of #MeToo, where gender roles, responsibilities and behaviour are under scrutiny, what shifts in business practice and social attitudes are effective in tackling sexual harassment and abuses of power?

Taking part in this session are Ricardo Amaral, Vice-President, Global Money Transfer, Brazil, Latin America and Central America West Region, Western Union Company, USA; Andrea Grobocopatel, Co-Chair, W20 Argentina; Pablo Jenkins, Founder and President, Ideas en Acción, Costa; and Luiza Helena Trajano, Co-Chair and Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, Magazine Luiza, Brazil.

Pablo Jenkins set the scene pointing out that in an era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution society is talking about getting to Mars and yet is still decades away from gender parity. He highlighted that in the region there is little legal recourse against harassment and power structures often don’t allow true reporting, but suggested that society has moved to an inflection point where an important conversation is beginning.

Luiza Helena Trajano grounded her ideas in the research that her company has been undertaking into harassment and gender parity. She revealed overall resistance to talking about this issue, and highlighted some of the key areas in which women face problems. Two of these were education and economic empowerment. She pointed out that there are many policies in place to support women, but these need explaining. Furthermore, she argued that when women report offences, they often then don’t have the economic power to take a case forward legally.

Andrea Grobocopatel praised the title of the session. She argued wholeheartedly that zero tolerance is the way to go, and that the discussion needs to focus on the issue of power and what it means. Andrea focused on what her organization has learned from Germany in terms of female inclusion in the social, economic and work spaces. Another area that she felt required attention in Latin America is supporting women in rural areas, because they often have less protection, and there are fewer means with which to communicate and educate them about their rights.

In a session where much of the audience were women, Ricardo Amaral championed diversity, citing figures suggesting that companies with a diverse workforce, enjoy 35% better performance than their peers in the same industry. He highlighted what his company is doing – particularly the channels that exist to allow for harassment to be reported – but pointed out that individuals often feel uncomfortable using them. As such, he argued for changes in attitude, however small, with leaders setting an example.

The first edition of the Forum's Fostering Effective Energy Transition report was launched today here at our meeting in São Paulo.

The report includes the Global Energy Index, which ranks 114 countries on the current level of their energy system performance, and their readiness to transition to a secure, sustainable, affordable and inclusive future energy system.

European nations dominate. In fact, they make up the entire top 10.

And here's how the Latin American countries performed:

Take a look at the full report here, or read our blog on the main findings.

The corporate culture that has allowed, or in some cases encouraged, the view of certain humans as sexual objects, or tradeable goods, has to change.

In the session which officially opens our meeting on Latin America, the World Economic Forum's founder and executive chairman, Professor Klaus Schwab, starts by presenting Edson Arantes do Nascimento, more commonly known as Pelé, with the Global Citizens Award 2018.

Pelé is not short on accolades. Widely regarded as the greatest footballer who has ever lived, he won three World Cups with Brazil and scored 1281 goals in 1363 games at club level. Since leaving the game, he's served as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and a global ambassador the the sport of football.

Brazilian President, Michel Temer, is also on the panel. Temer is asked how the country will deal with the tariffs slapped on aluminium and steel by the US government.

If there is no fast and friendly solution, then they will make a representation to the World Trade Organization, Temer says. But this action will not be taken unilaterally, but alongside other countries that are affected.

We stand against protectionist measures, the Brazilian president says.

"Brazil is back in business ... and it's back to stay," the President also said.

On tax, Temer said his government is less focused on "reform", and more on "simplification."

Latin America is a fertile ground for start-ups, with vibrant cities like Buenos Aires and Santiago taking the lead. The start-ups are addressing not just local, but also global problems, and governments are providing the ecosystems to help and support them.

International investment in Latin America is on the up. Venture capital from abroad has more than doubled since 2013. The number of venture capital deals in Latin America reached a record-high in 2016 to 197.

There is already a select group of Latin American Unicorns, including travel company Despegar.com and ecommerce site MercadoLibre, but what are the key factors needed for Latin America's 'unicorn' breakthrough?

For some background reading, take a look at this piece by Salesforce COO Enrique Ortegon, who lists three key conditions to help create more successful Latin American start-ups.

The session starts with a question about how Brazil can create more home-grown unicorns. The country has seen three companies recently reach unicorn status (valued at over $1 billion), but all three were started by men who were trained overseas and had relatively easy access to capital.

Amiram Appelbaum, Chief Scientist and Chairman, Israel Innovation Authority, says any start-up infrastructure has to be global, because talent is everywhere.

Marco Crespo, Head, Latin America, Gympass, agrees. Technology should have no frontiers, he says. This is what has allowed companies like Uber to thrive.

Technology is the key to lowering socio-economic gaps in all Latin American countries, says Appelbaum. Education and training can be provided to even the most remote communities via the internet.

A super-cycle of elections awaits. In which direction will countries in the region turn?

Global growth is on its strongest trajectory yet since the financial crisis.

The latest IMF update puts global output at 3.7 percent in 2017, half a percentage point higher than in 2016.

Central banks are now normalizing their monetary policy, but there are challenges ahead.

The IMF warns that we may see a faster-than-expected increase in advanced economy core inflation and interest rates, as well as a correction in the markets which will unsettle investors.

Investors and policy-makers alike will need to prepare for the potential shifts in capital flows in this new environment.

Are they ready?

First up, how healthy is the global economy?

Brazil's finance minister, Henrique Meirelles, says the main risk we face is central bankers overreacting to a sudden flicker in inflation. But this isn't likely to happen, he believes.

Columbia University's Andrés Velasco, on the other hand, says he worries about a sudden loss of confidence.

Hans-Paul Bürkner, BCG Chairman, says the fundamentals of the global economy are good, but he is concerned with recent challenges to international trade.

The previous crisis was a crisis of private debt, says Velasco. What's different now is that we have a lot of public debt around the world. This debt is not a problem if interest rates stay low, he says. But if they rise, we could have another debt problem, and this is something we must keep an eye on.

Back to trade. Are we headed for a trade war?

Steel and aluminium represent about 2% of global trade, says Velasco. So if President Donald Trump stops there, there will be no trade war. So it depends on what happens next.

Pelé is widely regarded as the greatest football player of all time, helping his native Brazil take home three world cups. The legendary footballer has also been acknowledged for his social work, winning an award in 1977 from UNICEF for his support of the charity.

Join this conversation with the sport legend on how he spread passion for football and Brazil around the world and became an inspirational leader for social good.

The only thing I wanted to do as a child was be like my father, says Pelé. He was also a footballer, and thankfully I was able to follow in his footsteps. I told him I would win a World Cup for him, he adds, and we did in 1958.

At the time of his emergence as a player, Brazil was not known as a country that produced great athletes. Pelé changed all that.

When we went to Sweden (World Cup hosts in 1958), Pelé says, I was astounded to learn that nobody knew about Brazil. I was indignant that they had no knowledge of us.

Our soccer team helped Brazil to become known throughout the world, he adds.

Talking about his humanitarian work, Pelé said:

Finally, who does the footballing great think is the best player playing the game today? As he is "a man with three hearts", he says he has to choose three - Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Right-wing politicians winning seats in government, nations implementing protectionist policies, public calls for sovereignty, the global order is being threatened on many levels. Too many have not benefited from globalization and want their voices to be heard.

This makes global collaboration all the more challenging, but international organizations and global business may yet have an even bigger role to play in healing the divide. How can we reach a new deal on globalization to meet the needs of those left behind?

Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the WTO starts things off by discussing the skills gap - future generations have challenging times ahead: "Some studies have shown kids entering elementary school - two thirds will end up working in jobs that don't exist right now."

"How do we prepare for that kind of world? Overall economies are creating more jobs than ever before, but we need a different set of skills and expertise. This change will happen extremely quickly."

Embrace change when it presents itself, says Jorge Faurie:

Gender-equal policies have been shown to boost sales, increase quality control and reduce staff turnover. Here are 9 practices to put into place.

Jobs, education and skills are one of the key themes of this year's meeting in Latin America.

Writing ahead of the gathering in Brazil's largest city, the OECD's Angel Melguizo wrote in this piece (co-authored with Manpower's Monica Flores):

"Over four in 10 firms in Latin America say they have difficulty finding workers with the right skills ... Companies in Argentina are worst hit, with 59% struggling to hire staff with the right skills; in Colombia that figure is 50%, and Peru 49%. For more than a decade now – that is, during the economic boom of the 2000s, the slowdown since 2012, the recession of 2015-2016, and the present recovery – Latin America has ranked as the region with the widest skills gap in the world."

Speaking earlier today in the session, The Post Manufacturing Economy, Melguizo said that, though he is generally optimistic, the skills gap is something that the region should be concentrating on.

Speaking in the same session, Flores said that businesses urgently need to adapt to this new reality.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Artley, BT's President in the America, said that children need to become digital natives as early as possible. Computational thinking has to be part of the curriculum, she said.

STEM learning (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) has been expanded to become STREAMD (science, technology, robotics, engineering, arts, math and design). This creates new doorways for people to walk through, and is a big opportunity to close the gender gap, she added.

That's it from us for today here at the World Economic Forum on Latin America 2018 in São Paulo, Brazil. We'll be back tomorrow morning at 0830 BRT for more. See you then!

Investigations into corruption demonstrate accountability and the rule of law, yet further undermine trust in business and institutions. What factors can break the cycle of corruption while promoting economic and social stability?

This session was developed in partnership with Agencia EFE and in association with the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI).

Those taking part include: Paula Bellizia, General Manager, Microsoft Informática Ltda; Denise Dresser, Political Analyst, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), Mexico; Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair, Transparency International, Germany; Torquato Jardim, Minister of Justice of Brazil; and José Antonio Vera, President, Agencia EFE.

Jose Antonio Vera began by highlighting the extent of the issue in the region. He pointed out that four presidents of Latin America are currently in jail, while corruption has been associated with more than 12 of the region's heads of state.

Delia Ferreira Rubio suggested a three-pronged approach to tackling the issue of corruption, focusing on:

She highlighted the debate that numerous scandals has created, and argued that civil society needs to find a channel for its “post-indignation”.

Paula Bellizia highlighted the benefits of technology in addressing corruption. She called for people to be empowered through the use of technology, arguing that corruption clashes with this sentiment. Bellizia suggested several ways in which technology can help tackle corruption, including:

How do you get those who have benefited from corruption to fight against it? This was the thrust of Denise Dresser’s argument.

She suggested that for the most part, the incentive for change comes from mobilizing people and organizations, but pointed out, that civil society needs a better plan and a stronger direction.

Torquato Jardim agreed with the views presented, alongside which he was keen to highlight some of the challenges that those within public office face. He pointed to the size of the public sector in Brazil, which he described as “excessive” and to the state’s enormous ties, both of which he argued provided conditions conducive to corruption. In turn, Jardim suggested that this makes it difficult for publicly-elected officials to combat large, concentrated power.

Echoing Dresser’s comments, he suggested that it was necessary for the private sector to be convinced “that corruption is evil and destructive”, arguing that a healthy private sector needs healthy competition.

Rubio concluded the session with a call for “more integrity and less impunity”, suggesting that “if we do this, we’ll win this struggle”.

Poverty and violence are the driving forces behind human movement in Latin America. What new responses by policy-makers and businesses help to support the people on the move and their host communities?

Join this issue briefing for the latest insights on the triad of human mobility, socio-economic development and human rights.

Speakers at this session include Sergio Andrade, Founder and Executive Director, Agenda Pública; Marcela Escobari, Senior Adviser, Mastercard; Adva Saldinger, Associate Editor, Devex; Marcos Jorge de Lima, Minister of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services of Brazil.

"If there is any secret sauce to growth, it is the transfer of know-how," says Marcela Escobari:

International trade supports growth and development and helps to alleviate poverty, but many free trade agreements have suffered a backlash in recent years.

With established agreements being reworked, how should stakeholders navigate an uncertain trade landscape?

This session was developed in partnership with El Pais and is associated with the System Initiative on Shaping the Future of International Trade and Investment and the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Joining the session will be Brian Newman, Executive Vice-President, Finance and Operations, Latin America, PepsiCo Inc.; Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz, Chief Executive, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development; Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, Secretary of the Economy, Secretariat of the Economy of Mexico; Fernando Zavala, President, Consejo Privado de Competitividad; Gilberto Caldart, President, Latin America and Caribbean (LAC), Mastercard; and David Alandete, Managing Editor and Deputy Director, El País.

Starting with a discussion on NAFTA: "The risk is never absent, but you have to be ready for a NAFTA without the US," says Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal.

"The US will decide whether they are in or out."

Villarreal says the trade agreement will continue with Mexico and Canada.

It is not Trump that is challenging trade policies, says Villarreal. "It is a part of the US population that believes that isolation and closing the doors for trade is in their best benefit."

Blaming modernization and technology, Villarreal says politicians have failed to take care of a displaced base. He says the biggest challenge now is the inability of politicians to really defend and uphold positive change for humanity.

That's it from your liveblog team here in São Paulo.

If you missed any of our content, here's all of our blog content, here's a link to the live sessions, and here's our Flickr content, (which is free to use with attribution).

Who knows where we will be next year, but until then, tchau, despedida, adeusinho!