MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Latin America rapidly becoming a middle-class continent, according to ECLAC
Latin America’s middle class increased by 56 million since 1999 with a direct consequence on consumption patterns and demand for government policies, according to a report in the latest edition of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean, ECLAC Review. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesI never love middle class. becouse that ...
Apr 20th, 2011 - 09:18 am - Link - Report abuse 0to buy high and low class is very more easier .
Lets hope that when the lithium, copper and oil run out, the middle classes are sufficiently resilient to stay 'middle'.
Apr 20th, 2011 - 11:29 am - Link - Report abuse 0Since the majority of Latin American countries grow by means of domestic demand - investment and consumption - not exports, they probably are “sufficiently resilient.”
Apr 20th, 2011 - 08:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Changes in terms of trade over the past decade have had significant benefits for some Latin American countries, like Venezuela, Chile, and Bolivia. However, the impact of changing terms of trade for most of the economies in the region, including larger ones such as Brazil, Mexico, and, to some extent, Argentina, was not very significant because increasing import prices partly offset the higher income from metals and agricultural commodities.”
http://www.financeasia.com/News/239307,the-growing-importance-of-china-brazil-trade.aspx
We are seeing, throughout Africa, the stripping out of the land's products and the total failure to translate the income into developments that create 'The Middle Class'.
Apr 20th, 2011 - 10:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0When the land's products are gone, whither the non-emergent African middle class?
When South America's products are gone, there should be enough US, German and Chinese manfacturing companies 'controlling' the SA nation's economies to enable middle classes still to exist.
But the SA nations' over-inflated state administrations and governances will so full of pension-claiming administrators that the middle class will be forever the burden that the employees of foreign owned private industry has to bear.
We see it elsewhere; it will be no different here.
@GeoffWard
Apr 20th, 2011 - 11:14 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Have you read what I said? South America's growth is spurred by domestic consumption. This is the main argument of the report I posted above. As for the “US, German and Chinese manfacturing” you fantasize about, IF they're entering South American markets, they're doing so, more often than not, by buying pre-existing businesses. As such, by themselves they do not enable income growth. If anything, they reduce it by remitting profits to their headquarters in foreign countries instead of re-investing them in the country the money was earned, as would happen if businesses remained domestically owned.
You have far less knowledge of the region you discuss than you believe. What you have is a perception, often with no basis on reality, fabricated by consuming too much from too few media outlets. I can trace your all too whiny attitude back to JN, Arnaldo Jabor, and other professional misinformers.
Geoff, there are still alot of AFP Private Pension states in SA, so not all state budgets are overinflated. I see some tendence in general to get away from the state caring status in the region, Venezuela by no means is representative for the continent (anymore). Evo Morales is struggling, Uruguay and Paraguay are getting more and more market oriented, even having “left” governments and Keiko is for sure going to win the run for elections in Peru, so no change of structure there. Rouseff in Brasil gets into Lulas steps, Brazil wants to conquer world markets. Chile with Piñera, no comments necessary. And finally the only “stable” left government: Ecuador and Correa. And this only because he has never made the impression to be a puppet of Chavez, like all the other cases.
Apr 20th, 2011 - 11:15 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I see precisely the inverse - that the state role over the economy is growing throughout the region. Given the failure of the neoliberal regimes in the 90s, that's an excellent change. In Brazil Rousseff is “getting into Lula's steps” by increasing state management of the economy, not by surrendering more to the markets. That's a good thing. History has shown that in Brazil the state works far better than the market (just compare the 70s, the golden age of Brazilian state capitalism, with the 90s). I don't know much about the other countries. But to say that Bolivia is struggling is incorrect. Bolivia was the country that grew the most in the western hemisphere in 2009. As Peru, I pity its population if they get to elect Fujimori, the daughter of a corrupt, violent dictator-wannabe to office. With her, the recent trends within Peruvian economy - high growth but also high unemployment and growing inequality - is sure to continue unabated in that country for the next years.
Apr 20th, 2011 - 11:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0first of all, debating with #2 is total waste.
Apr 20th, 2011 - 11:52 pm - Link - Report abuse 0People in Peru are being brainwashed over and over about Mr. Humala. He was the one under President Fujimore who got rid of the terrorists. Mr. Humala knows damn well where the danger lays if they don't spread the wealth (not the Barack Obozo way) better when the peruvian economy is booming and he knows damn well how to defeat the narco terrorism that grew faster under neo liberal Alan Garcia who kept his eyes closed. If Keiko wins, the policies of Garcia will continue where only Peruvians in Lima will feel the boom. If Humala wins, first their will be panic (similar what happened in Brazil under Lula) and then will boom further for the peruvian people in whole Peru. It's time that Peru takes more control over it's valuable recourses that is now being looted.
Brasil:
Apr 21st, 2011 - 01:54 am - Link - Report abuse 0Sao Paulo A, B, C, D, E, Foxconn!
Foxconn City, SP, Brasil. The domestic electronic capital of the continent:
Reduced salaries,'chinese' Foxconn working conditions, remittances returned to the Far East, indigenous industry destroyed, ?70% accumulated tax on gross wages, Robin Hood redistributed taxation to expand the Bolsa, credit bubble, demographic pension explosion, boom/bust/boom/bust/bust/bust
And all the while, the rich get richer, and the power and money stays in the same old families.
Oh, Dilma! for an end to corruption. If you can't get a grip on the cankers in government & admin, who can?
(9) GeoffWard
Apr 21st, 2011 - 04:22 am - Link - Report abuse 0You say:
”For if you and your ilk, the 'intelligent' and educated, are prepared to seek advancement through corruption, then you, your ilk, and this country have no claim to the word 'civilised'.”
I say:
You are talking!
You that advocate the ”TAKING OUT” of every progressive government in South America that is trying to change the corruption status quo?
We know all too well what “YOUR ILK” means with the worlds: ”TAKE OUT”
Dilma and Mujica bear the scars on their bodies………..
Names like Goulart and Allende have been in the news recently………..
Just one example to illustrate your complete lack of real information about South American Affairs and how opinionated your comments are:
The other day you “teasingly” commented about the Malvinas minefields…..:
http://en.mercopress.com/2011/04/19/falklands-explosives-disposal-team-has-dealt-with-2.8-million-ordnance-items-in-29-years
Well…………………………………….:
Argentina has offered, several times, during the last 29 years to send demining teams and remove every single mine.
The United Kingdom (and the Islands hardliners) have refused the offer every time.
The minefields are still there in contravention of the UN Demining treaty that GB has signed.
Not because they are difficult to remove, but because they are a magnificent propaganda tool to get emotional old Anglo Turnips like you to react as expected,…… without thinking.
@ think
Apr 21st, 2011 - 07:05 am - Link - Report abuse 0Not because they are difficult to remove, but because they are a magnificent propaganda tool to get emotional old Anglo Turnips like you to react as expected,…… without thinking.
Nor you
Maybe we kept the mines a bit longer like chile,to keep burglars out
http://en.mercopress.com/2010/07/13/chile-clears-minefields-in-magallanes-region-and-tierra-del-fuego
Chile will announce this week that the extreme south of the country, in areas next to the border with Argentina, is free of antipersonnel mines. Chilean authorities consider this a major step to comply with the 2016 Ottawa convention timetable
According to the report released to the press, Chilean Armed Forces special teams located and destroyed 3.462 anti personnel mines and 1.844 anti-tank mines in the Bahía Azul three areas to the north of Tierra del Fuego. This has been accomplished between December 2006 and June 2010.
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