
By Nicolás Eyzaguirre (*) Building on recent successes, Latin America now has a chance to raise its profile in the global marketplace. “There is nothing so joyous as a Mexican fiesta, but there is also nothing so sorrowful,” wrote Nobel-Prize-winning poet Octavio Paz, in The Labyrinth of Solitude. “Our fiestas are explosions. Life and death, joy and sorrow, music and mere noise are united.

The IMF relation with Argentina is like romance with its ups and downs, said IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Khan who added he trusted that the IMF technical mission that will be visiting Argentina to help elaborate a new retail prices index would achieve “significant advances”.

Brazil announced Thursday it has become the world’s seventh economy after having expanded 7.5% in 2010, the strongest in 24 years. Brazil’s GDP now stands at 2.1 trillion US dollars with a per capita income of 11.185 USD.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Khan praised the management and achievements of the Uruguayan economy and said it was a pleasure to visit a country that does not have major problems resulting from the 2008 global financial crisis, which is a “recurrent issue” of his busy agenda.

By Dominique Strauss-Kahn - Latin America has enjoyed tremendous economic dynamism and a rising quality of life in recent years. But, faced with new challenges, the question is: how best to sustain this progress?

European Central Bank policymaker Axel Weber said that debt-strained Euro zone countries must make the most of the breathing space bought by aid measures and warned them the hardest part of the reform process was still ahead.

The International Monetary Fund will warn G20 finance ministers this weekend of growing risks to the world economy from surging food prices and public finances while also advocating a somewhat weaker dollar.

IMF Managing Director is scheduled to visit Uruguay next month where he will meet President Jose Mujica and his economic team before flying to Brazil. Dominique Strauss-Khan will arrive in Uruguay from Panama and is not scheduled to visit Argentina, according to Uruguayan government sources.

France's economy minister Tuesday urged IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn to stay at the global lender, as French conservatives sought to impede his potential bid for the French presidency next year.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the currencies of China and other emerging economies such as Brazil should play a greater role in global finance, as part of a bid to promote monetary stability