Transparency International (TI) has published their Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) since 1995, which ranks countries “by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.” The higher the number, the better. 2011’s results included 183 countries and territories around the world, including South America. Out of all the countries surveyed throughout…
Since completion in 1914, the Panama canal has been vital for maritime trade between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by cutting through the Isthmus of Panama to eliminate the lengthy and dangerous Cap Horn route looping around the southern tip of South America. As far back as 1825, the newly established Federal Republic of Central…
Central America is comprised the seven nations of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The combined GDP of these tropical nations is a total of $165,400 million USD according to the CIA World Factbook. Let’s put that in perspective. Canada had a GDP of approximately $1,759,000 million USD in 2011, or…
Initiated in 2004 as a pet project of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, the Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América started as a pact between the impoverished nation of Cuba, and Venezuela. The pact started as a simple partnership between communist Cuba, and fascist Venezuela. Under the initial agreement, Venezuela basically exchanged about 96,000…
Bolivia, Ecuador Nicaragua, and Venezuela are no strangers to anti-Western posturing. Recently, the nations have been cozying up to the Islamic nation Iran while simultaneously touting increasingly populist rhetoric, and implementing draconian policies such as disarming law abiding citizens in Venezuela, flouting national laws in Nicaragua, or attacks on the press in Ecuador. Last Tuesday,…
At least four countries in Latin America have implemented special economic zones designed to encourage development. These special zones with favorable economic liberties can be found in Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and more recently Honduras. In February of 2011, the legislature of Honduras created the legal framework to initiate special zones intended to be largely autonomous,…
Since the year 2000, the government of Ecuador has instituted a policy instating the United States dollar as the official currency of Ecuador. El Salvador, likewise, instituted a policy instituting the United States dollar as their official currency in 2001 thereby becoming the third Latin American country to use a foreign money as their official…
Now celebrated in the United States much as a gateway celebration opening the doors to summer, and an excuse to partake of Mexican fare and beverages portioned by tequila, “Cinco de Mayo” is still only regionally celebrated in Mexico where it is called El Día de la Batalla de Puebla. Marking the Battle of Puebla…
With 3,266,199 square miles of terrestrial territory, Brazil is the 5th largest country by landmass behind Russia, China, and the US of A. While Russia is in a league of its own with two and a half million square miles more than the second largest country in the world, with just 428,761 additional square miles…
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