Latin America

While broadly defined by many, Latin America commonly is the region of the world in the Americas where Spanish or Portuguese are the primary language(s). This includes the countries of Mexico, most of Central and South America, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Often in the United States (and worldwide) Latin America is generically applied to all of the Americas south of the United States.

The economies of Latin American countries vary greatly; yet this mostly underdeveloped market is attractive to many multinational corporations. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Latin America is approximately $3.33 trillion with a purchasing power of approximately $5.62 trillion. Marked by explosive growth, Latin America was projected to have an economic growth rate of 5.3 percent in 2006, which was the fourth consecutive year of growth greater than 4 percent.

While Spanish and Portuguese dominate the languages spoken in Latin America, Quechua and Aymara (languages traced to the Incas), Nahuatl and Mayan (languages traced to the Mayans), Guarani (an official language of Paraguay), English, French, Haitian Creole, Spanish Creole, and Dutch are also spoken. Most business transactions take place in Spanish, the most dominant language of the region.

Although official borders of the region are somewhat amorphous, it is commonly assumed that 21 countries and 10 dependencies make up the region. These countries are Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

French dependencies include French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélémy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre, and Miquelon. Netherlands dependencies are Aruba and Netherlands Antilles. The U.S. dependency is Puerto Rico.

Designed to improve the economic outlook in Latin America, ECLAC (United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) was established in 1948 and has its headquarters in Santiago, Chile. This is one of five regional associations created by the United Nations to encourage trade and mutually beneficial relationships among its members.

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This favela (slum) outside Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, is indicative of continuing struggles with extreme inequality even in the most rapidly growing economies of Latin America, which has been called the world's most economically unequal region.

Several trade blocs also exist within the region. These include Mercosur/Mercosul (regional trade agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay founded in 1991) and the Andean Community of Nations (CAN—comprised of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru founded in 1969). The Caribbean Community, or Caricom, is a customs union for 15 Caribbean countries that provides for free trade in goods between member countries and a common external tariff against nonmember countries.

The Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade agreement (DR-CAFTA) encompasses free trade among Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. DR-CAFTA and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) are bilateral free trade agreements that have varying levels of success and have come under some scrutiny in recent years. Although the level of effectiveness of these agreements has come into question, the reciprocal relationships with the United States continue to be fruitful for many multinational corporations.

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