Latin America economic performance worse than expected (Cepal) Seven million more people plunged into poverty in Latin America last year as an economic slowdown struck one of the world's poorest regions, a UN body said Tuesday. The executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (Cepal) also said in an interview with AFPTV that the performance of the region will be worse than expected due to the biggest losses suffered by Brazil in 25 years and the collapse of Venezuela's economy. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES