The first round of presidential elections in Ecuador, failed to deliver President Rafael Correa the result he desired. Held on February 19th the socialist candidate Lenin Moreno, failed to receive the 40% required, to prevent a second round in April. Correa has already threatened to dissolve both the executive and legislative branches of government, if Mr. Moreno is not elected president. President Correa may well decide to invoke an obscure procedural rule, that would in effect nullify the results of a national […]
Invest In Latin America
How Elections In Peru Could Change The Direction Of the Economy
The elections in Peru on April 10, resulted in no single candidate gaining more than half of the popular vote. This is what is required in order to prevent a run off. The two top presidential contenders were together able to garner 61% of the vote. Keiko Fujimori, the conservative daughter of a jailed former president received 40% of the vote and the centrist economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski secured 21%. What is important for investors is that neither candidate, will threaten the […]
The Economic Third Way In Bolivia Is Under Pressure
Bolivian President Evo Morales is observing with increasing alarm, as one socialist government after another falls to the forces of democracy in Latin America. Brought low by collapsing commodity prices and ill advised economic policies, the leftist regimes around South America are coming under increasing pressure to make reforms. Slowing global growth offers little hope, that these nations will be able to engineer a turn around, without abandoning some long held principles. The business sector remains weak in Bolivia, conveyed by years […]
Is Ecuador The Next Domino To Fall In Latin America?
The end of the boom in commodities brought to the forefront, an important aspect of the leftist movement in Latin America. Mainly that it is economically unsustainable in the present global environment. The pattern is repeating itself as one nation after another, runs out of the money to sustain governments that came to power by promising a redistribution of wealth to the populace at large. The electoral system that brought them to power, is the very process that will now lead to […]
The Return Of The Opposition In Venezuela
The tide is finally turning against the leftist populist movement of Chavismo in Venezuela. It has been hemorrhaging support as the economy of the country heads for collapse. Yet the political party founded by Hugo Chavez, has won every election since 1998. Without his stature and the near economic chaos now taking hold of the nation, the possibility for political change has now arrived. Millions of Venezuelans dealing with near catastrophic living conditions in their daily lives and runaway crime, are finally […]
An Economic New Beginning In Argentina For Investors
Argentinian voters have tired over the confrontational style and protectionist policies of President Cristina Fernandez, that in the end have impoverished the very people that she purports to want to help. As economic conditions worsened in Latin America’s third largest economy, the government began to fabricate and manipulate the numbers to the point that no one could put any credence in officially posted data. As a result, foreign investors abandoned the country in droves. The endless spending has proved unsustainable with the […]
Turning Of The Political Tide In South America Will Benefit Investors
The tide is turning in South America among some of the most important countries on the continent. Elections in Argentina and political turmoil in Brazil, Chile and Venezuela will at last bring change to the benefit of investors. A presidential election in Peru is now just months away. The near collapse of demand for commodities,has brought a dramatic slowdown in the regional economy. Strategies to promote more growth and investment, have become increasingly more popular among the electorate than the redistribution of […]
The Present Economic Dead End In Leftist Latin American Politics
During the global commodity boom that lasted most of the 21st century, there was little impetus for economic and financial reforms in Latin America. The world economy was generating sufficient growth to lift some 60 million people out of abject poverty in South America alone. The middle class was growing rapidly, as investors in the region and from around the world, flocked to invest in the natural resources that were being exploited. Growth averaged over 4% during these years, allowing the possibility […]
The Economy Of Brazil: Where Is The Growth?
The beginning of the 21st century was full promise for Brazil. This was going to be the time when the country would move from being an emerging market to the status of developed first world nation, within the first two decades. Economic growth accelerated from 3% in 2002 to 6% by 2007. After a brief interruption as a result of the financial crisis and resulting economic downturn in 2009, growth surged in 2010 approaching 8%. Foreign investment was pouring in. The boom in […]
The End Of Commodity Driven Economic Growth In Latin America
Economic growth and investment in Latin America has been driven for decades by the exploitation and development of natural resources which allowed the region to become a major source for commodities. The general rise in price for trade goods including food stuffs, energy and minerals was caused by the rapid industrialization of China. This development proved to be an enormous catalyst for growth for Latin America. As the Chinese economy slows to a rate of expansion of 7% and maybe even less, […]