The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations. It was founded in 1948 to contribute to the sustainable economic and social development of the countries in the region. ECLAC headquarters is located in Santiago, Chile.
The Subregional Headquarters in Mexico was established in 1951 and serves 10 countries: Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama.
It functions as a center of excellence for technical assistance and research to advise governments in the region at the highest level on the design, formulation, monitoring, and evaluation of public policies, as well as providing training to public officials.
History
The Subregional Headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Mexico was founded in 1951 when the plenary of the Fourth Session of ECLAC approved Resolution 30 (IV) on June 16, 1951, which determined the establishment of "an ECLAC Office in Mexico" (E/CN.12/284), which began operations in September of that same year.
The document "La fundación de la CEPAL en México: desde los orígenes hasta 1960" reviews the first decade of this Office and how Chilean diplomat Hernán Santa Cruz justified the relevance of this organization against the opinion of those who maintained there would be an overlap of functions with the Organization of American States. It also highlights the direction that Raúl Prebisch gave to ECLAC from the moment he assumed the position of Executive Secretary.
The objectives set for the new organization indicated that it would focus on analyzing the economic problems of Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama and "without prejudice to the Executive Secretary's decision to extend these studies to other regions of the continent, if deemed advisable," according to what was stipulated in said document. In addition to providing advice to the governments of the mentioned countries in various socioeconomic, technical, and financial fields, this Subregional Headquarters contributed to the creation of the Central American Common Market (CACM) and continues to support governments in integration tasks and efforts.
The biennial work program of this Subregional Headquarters, its main policy guideline, is approved during ECLAC sessions and is developed within the framework of a United Nations medium-term plan (six years).
The current work program encompasses the following thematic areas: Economic development, social development, agricultural development, climate change, energy and natural resources, international trade, and industry. All from the perspective of equality and respect for human rights.