The National Council of Private Business feels that the authorities are not giving clear direction to the economy. CONEP says that private interests are steering government decisions, which does not present the most healthy panorama for the future. El Siglo newspaper reports that the business sector is concerned as the government has not been able to push the country out of the recession that has affected it since the start of the year. The Central Bank authorities disagree. Accumulated growth for 2001 is now 0.3-0.8%, which is up from the –1.5% decline of January to March. Furthermore, the Central Bank is optimistic about the positive effects of an injection of US$500 million in sovereign bonds money. The Central Bank forecasts the economy will post a growth rate of 3.5% in 2001, which is above the Latin American average. Last year, the economy grew 7.8%.
