During the 2Q2024, economic growth was driven by the rebound of primary sectors, such as traditional agriculture and fishing, and by higher public spending, supported by an estimated increase of 11% in public wages and 16% in public investment, adjusting for inflation.
During the month of August, attention was focused on the dynamics within Congress. In view of the election of the Board of Directors and the recomposition of the ordinary commissions, numerous movements were recorded in the benches.
Much of the improvement is explained by the fishing sector, which grew by almost 45%, driven by a good first season, which runs from April to June, after it was canceled last year due to weather problems.
It is not convenient for the political parties in Congress to further expand the present electoral offer, considering that most of them already have a significant part of their candidates affiliated with the party.
According to the survey carried out by Ipsos and APOYO Consultoría this month, close to 30% of people rate their current economic situation as bad or very bad. Even so, another 30% expect it to improve in the next 12 months, a percentage that exceeds – for the first time since 2021 – the percentage that expects it to get worse.
Congress's difficulty in finding consensus regarding the political reforms necessary to ensure institutionality, representation, and balance of powers would keep the risk of political crisis latent in the next five years. Likewise, the growing citizen discontent, which could not be satisfied by the poor electoral offer, will maintain uncertainty regarding the next elections.
Growth in categories driven by the pandemic, such as in-home food and homecare, will continue to slow. Other categories hard hit by the pandemic, such as personal care and beverages, will continue to recover.
