text: The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC, UNECLAC or in Spanish and Portuguese CEPAL, is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooperation. ECLAC includes 46 member States (20 in Latin America, 13 in the Caribbean and 13 from outside the region), and 14 associate members which are various non-independent territories, associated island countries and a commonwealth in the Caribbean. ECLAC publishes statistics covering the countries of the region and makes cooperative agreements with nonprofit institutions. The headquarters of ECLAC is in Santiago, Chile.
  ECLAC (or UNECLA) was established in 1948 as the UN Economic Commission for Latin America. In 1984, a resolution was passed to include the countries of the Caribbean in the name.  It reports to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
  Member States
  The following are all member States of ECLAC:
  Associate Members
  The following are all associate members of ECLAC:
  Locations
  Santiago, Chile (headquarters)
  Mexico City, Mexico (Central American subregional headquarters)
  Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (Caribbean subregional headquarters)
  Buenos Aires, Argentina (country office)
  Brasília, Brazil (country office)
  Montevideo, Uruguay (country office)
  Bogotá, Colombia (country office)
  Washington, DC, United States of America (liaison office)
  Executive Secretaries
  In relation to development discourse and dependency theory
  The formation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America was crucial to the beginning of "Big D development". Many economic scholars attribute the founding of ECLA and its policy implementation in Latin America for the subsequent debates on structuralism and dependency theory. Although forming in the post-war period, the historic roots of ECLA trace back to political movement made long before the war had begun.