Nicaragua Far Behind as Panama Canal Celebrates 100 Years
The Panama canal has been vital for maritime trade between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans since completion in 1914.
Wine in Latin America
Despite the fact that the indigenous people in the Americas made alcoholic beverages before European grapes were imported by the Conquistadors, the local vitis genus of grapes were never used to make wine. The first known attempt to grow vines for wine began in Hispaniola after Columbus’ second voyage in 1594. Since then, viticulture spread across the…
Grand Canal of Nicaragua
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…
GDP and PPP in Central America
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…
Dollarisation in Latin America
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…
Concern for Democracy and Liberties in Nicaragua
US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) expressed concern for the rule of law in Nicaragua during confirmation hearings on February 7 to determine the next US Ambassador for a handful of Latin American countries. During confirmation hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Phyllis Powers said that she would “speak clear and with conviction about the…
4.1% Growth For Chile
According to the Chilean newspaper “El Mercurio” Chile’s economy is projected to grow 4.1% in 2012. Down from 6.5% in 2011, expected growth in 2012 would nonetheless top not only the projected average for all of Latin America, but the global average of just 3.1% according to the paper. Regional growth is expected to be…
Caracas Divides Mercosur
Mercosur is a full customs union encompassing Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay y Uruguay. Additionally, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia and Perú are associate members of the union, and as such, participate in the economic union, but not the unified customs system. While Venezuela signed into the union in 2006, their membership has been blocked ever since by…
Alianza del Pacífico Forges Ahead
Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia met on the 16th of December to solidify an economic alliance initiated by Alan García Pérez, the former president of Peru. In the interest of greater integration between the four countries, The Pacific Alliance (Alianza del Pacífico) has solidified bilateral trade agreements to facilitate and foment trade between the countries in addition to…
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