BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -- The devaluation of Brazil's real currency has
                  left Latin America facing its worst recession since the debt crisis of the
                  1980s, and economists warn the region's trial by fire is not over yet.

                  A slide of more than 40 percent in the real since it was allowed to float two
                  weeks ago has been a stark reminder of the debt defaults, hyperinflation and
                  economic mismanagement that led to the "lost decade" of stagnation in many
                  Latin American countries in the 1980s.

                  Tulio Vera, head of emerging markets fixed income research at ABN
                  AMRO, predicts a 0.6 percent drop in output for all of Latin America this
                  year.

                  He estimates the last time there was a recession of such magnitude in the
                  region was in 1983, when output contracted 2.6 percent. "That tells you it
                  all, right there," he said of the size of the coming downturn.

                  Other economists and banks, such as SG Cowen Securities which sees a
                  1.4 percent regional contraction this year, are even more pessimistic and
                  nearly all caution that forecasts are likely to be downgraded if the situation in
                  Brazil, the region's largest economy, deteriorates.

                  "The last few years have taught us a few things about growth expectations in
                  the aftermath of a major currency weakening. Almost without exception, the
                  market has initially underestimated the downside," finance house Salomon
                  Smith Barney said in a research note. "Should we expect any better
                  performance for Brazil?"

                  So far, the most negative forecasters see Brazil's economy contracting
                  around 7 percent this year, after growing around 1 percent last year.

                  But the country's situation has the potential to turn much uglier if its currency
                  dives further, if there is a debt restructuring, a surge in inflation, more fiscal
                  deterioration or a combination of these. So the impact on the whole region
                  through loss of investor confidence and higher rates could still become much
                  worse, economists warn.

                  "The economic fate of Brazil and the region for 1999 hangs on how
                  (Brazilian) macroeconomic stabilisation pans out," SG Cowen Securities said
                  in a research note last week.

                  Unlike the 1995 "Tequila crisis" following Mexico's devaluation, when only
                  two of the region's major economies -- Mexico and Argentina -- contracted,
                  this time three are seen tipping into recession -- Brazil, Argentina and
                  Venezuela.

                  Argentina's economy could contract about 2 percent in 1999 after growing
                  4.5 percent last year, while oil-dependent Venezuela is seen contracting 1.8
                  percent, deepening its 0.5 percent decline last year on continued low oil
                  prices.

                  Brazil saved Latin America from a regional recession in 1995 thanks to
                  growth of 4.2 percent linked to the then newly-introduced inflation busting
                  real currency.

                  This time around, Mexico is seen scraping by with growth of about 2
                  percent, after recording 4.6 percent growth in 1998, as it continues to
                  benefit from close links to the booming U.S. economy. Chile is also seen
                  growing about 2 percent this year.

                  Even if 1999 will see one of the worst recessions on record for Latin
                  America, analysts say the region's governments will not turn their backs on
                  the sweeping free market reforms of the 1990s, which took such effort to
                  introduce.

                  Governments across the region have spent the last year cutting spending and
                  hiking rates to try to ward off the emerging market crisis that started in Asia.
                  Even now that it has hit, they are still trying to strengthen their economies.

                  In Venezuela, the former populist President-elect Hugo Chavez wants to
                  overhaul the constitution to allow him to push forward long-overdue
                  economic reforms.

                  And Argentina's government has shown its determination to avoid more
                  fall-out from Brazil by saying it is willing to take the drastic step of dollarizing
                  its economy to remove all risk of devaluation.

                  "Latin America has shown a willingness to adjust. There is an adjustment
                  process taking place, like this dollarization proposal from Argentina," said
                  ABN AMRO's Vera. "Eventually they will come out of this crisis with
                  improved payments facilities."

                   Copyright 1999 Reuters.