Recently there has been an explosive growth of interest in Latin American markets, above and beyond Mexico. Over the years, business executives and academics from the industrialized world seldom paid serious attention to South America for its market potential. The ratification in 1994 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the United States, Canada, and Mexico awakened them to look to the south of the US border. Then exactly one year later, on January 1, 1995, MERCOSUR (Mercado Comun del Sur) went into effect among the four countries in the Southern Cone region of South America - Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Subsequently, in June 1996, Chile and Bolivia agreed to join MERCOSUR, extending the frontiers of the South American trading bloc. Chile's participation took effect on October 1 1996, and Bolivia's formal association with MERCOSUR began on January 1, 1997. Indeed, MERCOSUR's goal is to incorporate all South American countries by 2005 before linking up with NAFTA. This book offers in-depth analysis of trade and liberalization movements in Latin America, examines managerial issues related to collaborating with Latin American companies, and explores macro- and micro-financial implications of investing in Latin American countries.
