Latin America is a region of contrasts, as any tourist or frequent traveler will tell you. The "Cuba-Venezuela" group is a mess.  The economies are not growing and a disregard for "the rule of law" discourages investment. The Chile-Mexico-Colombia group is doing a lot better, in large part because of their political stability and attractive treatment of investors.  For example, Mexico just passed energy reforms and Chile continues to be the envy of the region. Colombia and the US are trading more than ever, in large part because of the free trade agreement. Overall, I agree with Andres Oppenheimer that "caution" may be in order: "According to the IMF's semi-annual report released at its spring meeting in Washington on April 8, Latin America's economy will grow by 2.5 percent this year, and by 3 percent next year. That's lower than the region's growth rates in the past decade, but suggests that its...(Read Full Post)