BUSINESS CLIMATE IN LATIN AMERICA ROSE TO IT`S HIGHEST LEVEL IN 18 CONSECUTIVE MONTHS..!

according to the indicator released today by a private economic research center named, Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) of Brazil and the University of Munich.

The economic sentiment indicator called Latin America in January stood at 5.5 points above last October's 5.2 points and 5.0 points in January 2012, according to the quarterly survey conducted by the two institutions between 138 specialists from 18 countries.

The indicator was not as high measured from 5.6 points in July 2011, before it fell to 4.4 points in October 2011 as a result of the worsening of the international economic crisis.

Good expectation
According to the study, the business climate rose between October 2012 and January this year, mainly driven by the expectation that the situation will improve, since the evaluation of the current situation deteriorated slightly.

While the indicator called Outlook, which assesses specialists projections for the next six months, up from 5.3 points in October to 6.0 points in January, the Current Situation Indicator, which assesses the situation, down from 5.1 points 4.9 points over the same period.

Although the business climate improved in general in Latin America, in some countries the situation deteriorated * between October last year and January 2013, mainly in Venezuela, where the rate fell from 3.4 to 1.5 points; Ecuador, which fell from 5.0 to 4.0 points, and Bolivia, with a drop of 6.0 to 5.4 points.

In Brazil, the largest regional economy, the Economic Climate Index fell slightly in October from 6.1 points to 5.9 points in January.

Paraguay and Peru last month shared the best rated country status for business, with 7.0 points, followed by Chile (6.6), Uruguay (6.3), Brazil (5.9), Mexico (5.7), Bolivia (5.4), Colombia ( 5.3) and Argentina (5.2).

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PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK PRAISES PERUVIAN ECONOMY SUCCESS FOR TRANSCENDING THEIR OWN BORDERS

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said yesterday a meeting with the ambassador of Peru in the United States, Harold Forsyth, at the headquarters of the international financial organization with the purpose of reviewing the agenda of cooperation between Peru and the Bank.

Jim Yong Kim World Bank President & H. Forsyth Peruvian Embassador in Wshington DC.

"The president of Peru, Ollanta Humala, is conducting a success story that transcends beyond their own borders and enjoying a well-deserved international recognition," said Kim, who was accompanied by Hasan Tuluy, vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean region, and Susan Goldmark, director for Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela Bank.

Kim was pleased with the choice of Peru to host the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) in 2015, one of the most significant events on the world because it brings together the major economies the planet and has the same importance as the APEC forum.

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LATIN AMERICA - COMMUNITY BUILDING ACROSS BORDERS TO ASSIST EACH-OTHER

Alongside the tentative formal efforts at economic and political integration, people are also increasingly bringing the region together. A recent uptick in intra-regional movement—through travel, study, and immigration—has allowed Latin Americans to get to know each other better, and in the process bind together both their communities and their economies.

Millions of Latin Americans head nearby for their vacations, enjoying Patagonia, Machu Picchu, and the Galapagos Islands, among other places. Brazilians are the most active international travelers (in sheer numbers) with 1.5 million people (30 percent of their travelers) headed to locales in Central or South America. Latin American students are also increasingly studying abroad within the region. More than 50 percent of Chile’s international students were from neighbors (Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador), with most opting to study professions such as business, health, and the social sciences.

Immigration too has shifted. Today nearly two thirds of all South American immigrants come from neighboring countries (compared to just a quarter forty years ago). Argentina and Chile have received the most immigrants, with 70 and 90 percent coming from neighboring countries. Whole communities of Bolivians live in Argentina, Brazilians in Bolivia and Paraguay, and Colombians and Peruvians in Ecuador. Further north, over four hundred thousand Nicaraguans live in Costa Rica.

These large foreign communities can at times cause tensions—such as the half a million Brazilians (nicknamed braziguayos) living in Paraguay. These mostly agricultural workers immigrated in the 1960s, purchasing some of the best land for low prices, earning the envy and at times ire of Paraguayan natives. Ecuadorians have also clashed with the hundreds of thousands of Colombians living within their borders (which they associate with rising crime rates); a Facultad LatinoAmericana de Ciencias Sociales study reported that 64 percent of Ecuadorians held a bad opinion of Colombians.

Along with the size of the flows, the profile of immigrants has also been changing. While once dominated by low skilled laborers seeking better opportunities, at least half of today’s migrants to Chile, Mexico, and Panama have twelve or more years of schooling. 

In response to the changing flows, many countries have adjusted their policies to allow for foreigners to own land (as in the case of Mexico) or prohibiting discrimination on the basis of origin (as in Argentina). Some countries are even allowing foreign nationals to use their national identity cards next door, waving visa restrictions, and allowing social security and other accrued benefits to be transferred home. While only four Latin American countries allowed dual citizenship in 1990, at least eleven do today.

The informal intersections of Latin Americans across the region pressure changes in government policies and drive Latin America’s integration. Assisted by increased travel options, relaxed visa restrictions, and better communication technologies more and more citizens have made the decision to move within the region. Strengthening ties between countries through community networks, Latin America’s people are and will be just as important for regional integration as the formal treaties their governments create.

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