Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) 

The Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) was founded in 1948. ECLAC, which is headquartered in Santiago, Chile, is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations.  It was founded for the purposes of contributing to the economic development of Latin America, coordinating actions directed towards this end, reinforcing economic relationships among the countries and with the other nations of the world, and promoting the region's social development. 

ECLAC has two subregional headquarters: in Mexico City, which serves the needs of the Central American subregion, and in Puerto España for the Caribbean.  In addition, ECLAC maintains country offices in Buenos Aires, Brasilia, Montevideo and Bogotá, as well as a liaison office in Washington, D.C. 

The 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are members of ECLAC, together with some countries of North America and Europe.  Altogether, it has 41 member states and 7 associated states. 

ECLAC provides advisory services to governments that ask for it.  It also plans, organizes and carries out technical cooperation programs as well as encourages and promotes activities and projects in this area, taking into account the needs and priorities of the region. 

Please click here to see an archive of ECLAC activities.