Developing the South American markets

Abstract

Since the early 1980s, almost every country in South America has undergone major change. The 1980s represented a "lost decade" for these countries as they were seriously plagued by economic and political woes. Saddled with runaway inflation, unmanageable foreign debt and inept autocratic governments, they were seen as a lost cause by most developed countries. In the 1990s, however, the region staged a surprising and remarkable comeback. The dismantling of trade barriers and emergence of solid trading blocs are coalescing geographically fragmented markets. South America now offers one of the most promising, and appealing, groups of markets and investment prospects in the world as it re-establishes its potential through a series of difficult and painful reforms.