Click to enlarge, or better still visit the WSJ link belowto see the original context
Colombia: At blog Plan Colombia and Beyond we get the full English translation of an interview with Colombia’s Veep Francisco Santos. The nub of Santos’ argument is summed up in this line from the post; “Colombia should abandon Plan Colombia, downgrade relations with the United States, and seek relations with governments, like China, that don’t value human rights as strongly.” Essential reading for those interested in the country.
LatAm Remittances: Market Memorandum comments on the Interamerican Development Bank’s (IDB or IADB, goes under both acronyms, it seems) paper of yesterday that highlights the downturn-to-come in remittance monies for LatAm countries. Recommended viewing along with MM in the graphic above, available at this report in the WSJ. One thing so far unmentioned in the issue is the counterbalance of repatriated citizens and their contribution to local economies. I suppose we’ll get round to that eventually.
Mexico: Stupid union leaders strike again…literally. BNAmericas has the outline of the story about how Peñoles workers have rejected a management pay offer and gone on strike. Mgmt are surely going “Great! That means we’re making less of a loss on the zinc and lead you would have processed for us.” Can someone please get it through the skulls of union workers that there’s a recession on?
Peru: Farid Matuk blogs in English and lays wide open the clear irregularities in the methodology used by Peru’s economic bodies. Presented in this way it really does seem as though they get an order from Twobreakfasts to “give me XXX result” and then find a way of massaging figures for their meister.