Economic Commission for Latin America

Economic Commission for Latin America 

(ECLA), a regional body established in 1948 by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The Latin American states, the USA, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Canada, and Spain are members of the ECLA. The purposes of the ECLA are the development and implementation of measures that promote the economic development of the Latin American states and strengthen economic cooperation both among the Latin American countries and between those countries and states on other continents. For these purposes, ECLA conducts studies of economic, social, and technical problems; collects, summarizes, and disseminates information and statistics on such problems; and offers advice and makes recommendations to its members on matters falling within its competence.

The highest organ of ECLA is the plenary session, which is held every two years. Between sessions, a committee meets periodically to review the commission’s work and prepare the ECLA report for the Economic and Social Council. The permanent executive organ is the Secretariat, which is located in Santiago, Chile. It has subsidiary offices in Mexico City; Washington, D.C.; Rio de Janeiro; Montevideo; Bogotá; and Port-of–Spain.

Various subsidiary bodies operate within the framework of ECLA. They include the Central American Economic Cooperation Committee, the Trade Committee, and the High-level Governmental Committee on the Regional Evaluation of the International Development Strategy. The Latin American Institute for Economic and Social Planning and the Regional Center for Demographic Training and Research in Latin America operate under the aegis of ECLA.