Brazil: five issues to watch in 2012

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Renato Baumann at IPEA

On my last visit to Brazil, I interviewed Renato Baumann, a former Director of UN/ECLAC Office in Brazil, and now professor of economics at the University of Brasilia and a technical staff at IPEA, Brazil’s presidential think-tank. We discussed Brazil’s economic outlook for 2012 and focused on five issues facing the country beyond the current economic downturn: Brazil’s currency dilemma; the lack of infrastructure; the risk of de-industrialization as a result of Brazil-China’s trade relationship; Brazil’s global ambitions; and the country’s domestic political situation. Continue reading →

At home and abroad: the rise of Global Latinas

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Lourdes Casanova

While in France, I met with Lourdes Casanova, a Lecturer in the Strategy Department at INSEAD, one of the world’s leading graduate business schools. She shared her optimism about Latin American economies and told me about the rise of “Multilatinas”, or “Global Latinas”, Latin America’s emerging multinational companies. For Casanova, the challenge facing Latin America’s emerging business giants is two-fold: going global, while at the same time increasing their level of engagement with their home societies. Continue reading →

Brazil participates in 3rd BRICS Summit in China

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BRICS leaders in Sanya

Last week, I gave a presentation at the Argentine Council for International Relations (Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales) on the third BRICS Summit which took place on 14 April in Sanya (Southern China) with the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. My analysis of the Summit, and of its implications for the future of the BRICS as a global diplomatic player, is transcribed below. Continue reading →

The greening of ABC economies

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Pedro Tarak

I invited Pedro Tarak, an Argentine lawyer with a life-long commitment to environmental movements, to share his views on the “greening” of South American economies. In 1984, Tarak co-founded FARN (Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales), one of the first Argentine and Latino-American environmental NGOs. He later became the first representative of Fundación Avina in Latin America. He takes the pulse of current trends in the region, one year away from the Earth Summit 2012 in Rio de Janeiro (Rio+20). Continue reading →

The 20 years of Mercosur – a turning point?

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Félix Peña

For my first post, I interviewed Félix Peña, a former Under-Secretary of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Economy of Argentina. He now runs the Institute of International Trade at the Standard Bank Foundation in Buenos Aires. Together we talked about the dynamics of  “internationalization” of Argentina, Brazil and Chile’s economies. Peña shares his perspective on the future of Mercosur, South America’s trading bloc, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Continue reading →