Key Insights
In this 20-minute video interview, Cecilia Pottier, Senior Economic Affairs Officer at ECLAC, shares key insights regarding:
- FDI trends between 2023 to 2024 across Latin American host countries
- The form investments are taking, whether reinvestments or new capital
- Which data to analyze as a proxy for increased foreign direct spending
- How countries in the region can move from being exporters of critical minerals to partners in the global value chain
- The status of investments into major industries like oil and gas and renewables, with comparison to the recent peak investment period of 2014 to 2015
- How governments can create policies and programs to support productive and sustained investment
- How infrastructure investments can help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean become a competitive hub in the digital economy
This interview shares insights from ECLAC’s annual regional report, Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2025.
Speaker Biographies
Cecilia Plottier is the Senior Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. She is Chief of the Unit of Investment, Corporate Strategies, and Human Talent within the Division of Production, Productivity, and Management. She has been with ECLAC since 2015. Prior to joining ECLAC, she was a researcher and lecturer in the Department of Economics at the Catholic University of Uruguay; served as an economist at Uruguay Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Mining; and work as a consultant in the private and public sectors. Her main areas of interest are international economics, industrial dynamics, and industrial policies.
Fernando Gutierrez is the Industry Practice Lead for Trade and Investment at Moody’s. He helps government and economic development organizations capitalize on powerful FDI intelligence to attract, screen, and sustain investment. Since joining Moody’s in 2018, he has shaped the firm’s direction for trade and investment by translating policy priorities and market signals into practical product capabilities. Before Moody’s, Fernando worked at The Financial Times, advising institutions on how to identify FDI opportunities, evaluate risk, and design competitive investment strategies. Over a career spanning almost 20 years, he has led commercial and advisory engagements across over 50 countries and has spoken on panels at more than two hundred events, offering pragmatic perspectives on how governments can leverage data-driven insights to drive sustainable growth.
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