Gimenez’s generation finds a new fiscal religion

Paraguay’s finance minister Lea Gimenez

Paraguay’s economy is expected to expand by 4% in 2017, according to Fitch Ratings – the same growth rate that was achieved in 2016 despite the hangover from a 40% drop in commodity prices and sharp downturns in both Brazil and Argentina. For Lea Gimenez, Paraguay’s finance minister since June last year and the first woman to hold the post, that outcome underscores the growing resilience of the Paraguayan economy.

“This in the past would have meant the total collapse of our economy,” says Gimenez, who, at just 36 years old, is one of a number of bright young Paraguayan politicians seeking to transform and modernize the country.