BRICS Business Magazine English Edition No.2(6)

“If this river does not originate in the Terrestrial Paradise, it comes and flows from a land of infinite size to the south, of which we have no knowledge as yet…” reads a passage from Christopher Columbus’ letter to the Spanish king and queen, in which the explorer speaks of the Orinoco River, signaling his arrival not to another island, but to another continent. Over 500 years have elapsed since the admiral’s third voyage, yet the world is still discovering South or, more precisely, Latin America.

Trade turnover, measured in billions and thousands of joint enterprises set up by other emerging-market countries in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, and Colombia, must be duly acknowledged as a serious achievement. At the same time, however, this pales in comparison to the capabilities offered by Latin America, its markets, capital, ideas, and people. As is often the case, we lack knowledge and, likely, decisiveness – but you cannot have one without the other. The fact that major corporations have already rolled out operations in the territories Columbus discovered knowing nothing about Mercosur import tariffs is hardly a laughing matter.

Of course, it cannot be said that the outside world is to blame for all of the unimplemented projects rather than Latin America itself. Willingness to collaborate must be continually confirmed by actions. Analyzing how others perceive you is also crucial. Yet our task for the immediate future is to once again discover Latin America. We have long extolled its virtues as a recreation destination, but it is time to embrace its business potential.