Why Latin America must not do “more of the same”
The crisis is situational. It was the modest home buyer’s fault. The problem was caused by easy-to-fix technical errors. We must listen to the credit rating agencies so that what occurred on Wall Street will not happen in Latin America. The top executives also lost, because their stocks fell. With small tweaks to the model, everything can be fixed.
How the crisis that began in Wall Street will affect the continent, country by country
Latin American pensions have lost between 15 to 20 percent of their value. Income from the exportation of raw materials is shrinking. SME’s are having difficulties accessing new markets. Layoffs are occurring left and right. In spite of governmental efforts, the world crisis will continue to swallow up Latin America’s achievements.
25 years of pure presidentialism
An essential player in the region regroups after three decades of deterioration
When the construction of democracy runs into the ambiguity obstacle
Cuban society has serious problems that will not be solved with either the end of the dictatorship or the lifting of the American embargo against the island’s government. The author says that the double standard in which generations of Cubans have been educated in order to survive is a scourge that will in some way jeopardize the quality of the nation’s future democracy.
Suspicions and lawsuits against the Kirchners and their close circle on several fronts
The suspicions and lawsuits regarding corruption and illegal accumulation of wealth that are piling up against the Kirchners and their close circle could cause some regression, says the author. He adds that Julio de Vido, Minister for City Planning, has already had nearly forty accusatory cases filed against him in the courts of the province of Buenos Aires.
Cristina Fernández will initiate an marathon international tour to further markets
Cristina Fernández resumed the offensive on the international plane and will begin a long period of trips to consolidate Argentinean export markets. The destinations will include African, European, Latin American, and Asian nations, and this frames her policy of the reinsertion of Argentina into the international stage, firmly announced during the presidential campaign.
The media sources discovered a new case of bribes in the energy sector
The bribes that were made so that the state run Perú-Petro could grant to the Norwegian business Discover Petroleum five blocks of petroleum exploitation in preferred areas off the Peruvian coast have generated the resignation of the entirety of the ministry cabinet of Alan García. The scandal of “Petrogate” shows that corruption continues to be a fundamental obstacle for democracy in Latin America.
Lessons that Latin America can take away from the crisis
Latin America must reexamine the regulation, speculative practices, extreme inequity, role of public policy, and many other very important underlying affairs of the tragic collapse of Wall Street. The region should immediately leave behind narrow economic policies, and get an idea of what basic components of social capital, like trust and ethics, weigh heavily on the economy. The time is now.
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Sindication
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Twenty-five years after democracy’s comeback in Argentina, there is reason to celebrate, but there are also reasons to assume a necessary nonconformity and critically evaluate a reality that demands distinct answers and raises unresolved matters, says the author.
The middle class will no longer be cannon fodder for orthodox and dogmatic economic experiments in Latin America. It has become aware, it is participating more and it will be a decisive player in the shaping of the region’s future.
