Say “Peru” to a lot of people and what comes to mind? Copper, ceviche and Macchu Pichu. Yet bubbling beneath the surface—and already emerging—is an ecosystem of startups that will soon hold its own in South America with those in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. A recent trip to Lima, to moderate a session at […]
While alternative energy holds great promise for Latin America, serious limitations and costs limit its potential at present. This past July, the world’s biggest iron ore producer, Vale, announced that the firm is turning to palm-tree oil and wind turbines to insulate earnings from the rising costs of energy. The Brazilian multinational plans to produce […]
After a long journey from conception to gestation, the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will become a reality on May 15. The accord will render clear benefits for both sides. Colombia remains the third largest market in Latin America for U.S. exports and the second most important for small- and medium-sized firms. The two sides […]
The well-received 1985 movie “Back to the Future” was followed by two sequels. The fourth sequel is currently playing in Argentina—not on the big screen but in the political economy of that nation. This nation of 40 million has once more slid back into an imbecilic morass of demagoguery, authoritarianism, mindless statism and self-destructiveness. Don’t […]
For over two decades now, Information Communication Technologies (ICT) have been sweeping the globe, from the industrialized nations of the North to developing nations of the South. Some of the most dynamic growth of the latter has been in Latin America and the Caribbean, although connectivity, participation rates, product offerings, services, and costs and revenue […]
One day people the world over will be able to deposit money, withdraw savings, check their balance, pay their utility bills, receive their salary and remittances from abroad and government allowances—all on their mobile phones in a fast, convenient and safe manner. Thanks to technology and entrepreneurship, that day is now. Welcome to the brave […]
This is the summer of our discontent (if I may borrow from the Bard). The consumer price index is up, optimism is down, the federal budget deficit and national debt are like Representative Barney Frank—big, fat and out of control. We are mired in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya—situations like every man’s first marriage: easy to […]
While the the United States talks the talk; Canada walks the walk on Latin American business and trade relations. For most nations in the Western Hemisphere, a free market economy, including trade and investment liberalization, is the preferred path to economic and social advancement for their countries. While there are regimes that blatantly reject this course […]
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are booming in Latin America and expected to continue at full speed. The surge in the urge to merge continues in Latin America. On June 14, 2011, Banco do Brasil, Latin America’s biggest bank by assets, announced that it is considering purchasing lenders in Chile, Colombia and Peru to attract corporate […]
Latin America and the Middle East have an expanding, yet limited partnership. On December 17, 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian vegetable peddler, set himself on fire when officials in his town prevented him from selling his goods on the streets of Sidi Bouzid without permission. This one tragic act set off a chain reaction of […]
