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President Vicente Fox has been unable to overcome the
political obstacles to many of his vaunted reform plans. Still,Mexico has largely avoided South America’s malaise and remains a regional economic powerhouse.
Nearly all Mexico’s banks are foreign-owned now, and the financial system is fully recovered from the financial crash of 1995. But lending remains feebele in a country desperately in need of credit.
A casualty of the politics surrounding Alejandro Toledo’s first year as president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski succeeded
in growing Peru’s economy, sealing a deal with the IMF and issuing a historic international bond. But the public failed to embrace his free market ideas.
Trinidad and Tobago has more money than it knows what to do with. A debilitating political deadlock is making dealing
with this abundant liquidity an even greater problem.
Venezuela’s economy has always risen and fallen with the price of oil. But pressure from President Chávez and a new investment law are creating further challenges.
Venezuela’s financial services industry is remarkably solid and profitable. But bankers are worried about the effect of unemployment, inflation and recession on their institutions.
The multilateral bank that serves impoverished Andean economies received a warm reception for its long term bond issue from wary European investors.
An interview with Vicente Llatas, executive vice president of CanTV, Venezuela’s biggest telecoms provider.
PDVSA needs to invest more to keep current energy production at its present level. Rising operating and production costs are making the goal more elusive.
by Brian S. McBeth
As Venezuela confronts one of the most turbulent periods in its recent history, the government and its people struggle to hold on to democracy and to a cohesive society. Jonathan Wheatley reports in this supplement.
