Chile Reforms Key to Boosting 'Latin Americanized' Growth: S&P.

S&P Global Ratings has praised Chile's renewed focus on economic reforms, stating that they are crucial for boosting growth and managing debt levels. The country's growth has slowed to levels comparable to its regional peers, and it now needs to reach consensus across the political spectrum to implement changes such as tax and pension reforms. S&P emphasizes the importance of political unity in achieving economic reforms and warns that no single bill can significantly impact Chile's credit rating. The agency is set to review Chile's sovereign rating next month and currently classifies its foreign currency debt as 'A', the highest in Latin America. However, the outlook was revised to 'negative' due to weaker political consensus. Recent legislative approvals on tax evasion and upcoming bills on pension reform indicate progress in the political process. The article also mentions Chile's social unrest in 2019 and the subsequent rejection of two proposed rewrites of the constitution. S&P highlights the need for Chile to strengthen its fiscal and external buffers to improve its credit profile. [Extracted from the article]