One of the smallest countries in South America is growing at a breathtaking pace. It has overtaken Germany in terms of per capita income. Global industrial groups are very interested in gaining a foothold there.

The country has the largest lithium reserves in the world. However, Western companies have not yet been able to get their hands on them. Companies from China and Russia are further ahead. Now Bolivia could become part of the BRICS.

The future president and her party will have more power than most of her predecessors. The financial markets are reacting nervously to this. German companies continue to back the country.

After Europe and North America, it remains the region with the highest density of democracy in the world. However, the lack of security is the main reason why authoritarian governments are tolerated.

The IMF’s latest forecasts for the region’s economies are cautiously optimistic. And this is where the country with the highest growth worldwide is located.

Hopes for the positive effects of nearshoring were high, but the reality so far has been different. Western companies are hardly relocating, but China is seizing the opportunity.

Many Argentinians wish that the president’s reform program would succeed. He has also become the new beacon of hope for German business and politics.

Brazil is becoming the blueprint for expansion in the industrial value chains and in R&D. This is competition for Western companies in particular.

After the re-election of Nayib Bukule, his policy of a firm hand against crime but also the rule of law could find imitators in the region.

The chances of this are good. Global interest in the region is growing and it remains stable in a world of increasing crises.