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…
Deforestation of the Amazon is Slowing
An area of Brazilian rain forest larger than the US State Rhode Island was cleared from July, 2011, to July, 2012 according to data provided by the Brazilian government. A total of 1797 square miles (4,656 sq km) were cleared in that time; an area equal to 22% of Honduras’ land mass, and nearly twice…
GDP of Brazil
Brazil produced a GDP of $2.4767 in 2011 (in current U.S. dollars) according to statistics from the World Bank. Globally, Brazil ranks sixth in the world in terms of GDP, after France, Germany, Japan, China, and the United States respectively. Regionally, this places the country first in Latin America, with a GDP nearly $1 trillion…
Government Debt in Latin America
Below is a depiction of government debt levels for the seven largest economies in Latin America. Government debt accounted for approximately 46% of GDP across Latin America in 2011. As of 2011, European Union countries an average between 60% for the EU 15, and 74% for all European Union countries. (The EU15 comprised the following 15 countries:…
Chile Tops United States in Economic Freedom Rankings
Chile now ranks higher than the United States, and all of Central and South America according to the annual Index of Economic Freedom, produced by The Heritage Foundation, which has tracked economic freedom around the world for over a decade. According to the data compiled for this year’s rankings, Chile moved to number 7 on the…
Venezuela Joins Mercosur
Mercosur is a full customs union encompassing Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay y Uruguay. On Tuesday, the 31st of July, Venezuela joined that group making it one of the largest economies in the world at an estimated $3.3 trillion dollars. Recently, a similar economic agreement made up of largely western countries (Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia) named…
TAM Joins LAN to Become LATAM
Chilean airline LAN Airlines S.A. is a national institution, founded March 5, 1929. The airline is one of the most recognizable brands in Chile, and from 1994 to 2010, the majority shareholder was Chile’s sitting president, Sebastián Piñera (he made good on campaign promised to sell his interests to avoid any conflicts of interest while…
Free Economic Zones in Latin America
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,…
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