Latin America: Return of the Money

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Tax Holidays. There are still plenty of dangers and disappointments. Soaring prices and shaky governments bother Bolivia, Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina. The Latin American Free Trade Association has made scant progress, though the more modest Central American Common Market has been surprisingly successful. Almost everywhere Latin Americans still have a strong aversion to foreign investments in utilities, oil drilling, mining, and other enterprises that extract and export natural resources. Nonetheless, there is still great potential for investment in such growing fields as auto parts, petrochemicals, machinery and some appliances. And there is another strong incentive for Yankee businessmen to look south: several Latin American countries have begun to declare tax holidays for U.S. industrial investors.