Resumo

UGARTECHE, Oscar. Sources for Public Financing and International Indicators: Recent Latin American Evidence. Economía UNAM [online]. 2008, vol.5, n.13, pp.128-140. ISSN 1665-952X.

The last quarter of the 20^th century was marked by problems derived from the use of external credit to finance the fiscal and external deficits of Latin American economies. Nevertheless, after the Mexican crisis in 1992-1995 and the Asiatic one in 1998, there was an important change in the handling of the economies. The external surpluses together with reduced fiscal deficits and losses in tax revenue are the new features that have forced the change of some financing sources. On the other hand, there was an attempt to lower the exchange rate risk product of the volatility derived from the liberalization of capital flows with an application of exchange rate stability policies. These policies led to exchange rate crisis, such as the ones witnessed in Mexico 1994/1995, Thailand 1997, Brasil 1998/1999, and Argentina 2001/2002. The international sovereign debt markets, as well as the internal capital markets in the main Latin American countries were transformed. The external debt concept is at issue. Nevertheless, the indicators that are being used worldwide do not reflect this change. The present article will expose evidence of the financial sources and measuring of external debt, which, nonetheless, has fallen behind in international terms in the light of the increasing use of financing in national currency.