Source: Fox News Latino

Poverty in Latin America has dropped overall 17 percentage points in the last 20 years with two major exceptions, according to the United Nations regional economic body.

From 1990 to 2010 the poverty rate fell from 48.4 percent to 31.4percent, meaning that roughly 177 million people now live in poverty in the region. However, Honduras and Mexico trended the opposite way with poverty rates rising 1.7 percent and 1.5 percent respectively, according to the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

In regards to Mexico, the comparison was made with the poverty rate for 2008 so the figure does not only reflect the economic growth in Mexico in 2010, but also the major GDP per capita contractions in 2009, a press release from ECLAC stated.

“Poverty and inequality continue to decline in the region, which is good news, particularly in the midst of …

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Source: Americas Quarterly

In August, on his fourth official visit to Latin America, Prime Minister Stephen Harper set out to reboot Canada’s on-and-off-again relationship with the region. In the first stop on a four-country tour that took him to Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Honduras, Harper declared in São Paulo that “during too long a time we neglected relations[…]too much grass grows in the cracks on the road. It is time,” he added, “for increased ambition.”

Ambition is important. But so is perseverance.

Canadian efforts in the Americas are characterized by quixotic spasms of tango-like embrace: joining the Organization of American States (1990); negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, 1993–1994); and committing to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (1994)—all nearly 20 years ago. But this rush of engagement was followed by a long siesta until 2007, when the Harper government announced its Strategy of Engagement in …

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By Peter Ryan

As the potential options for Nearshore delivery to the US continue to increase, Ovum notes with interest the slow but steady emergence of Honduras as a viable location for BPO delivery. Although arguably not a country on the shortlist of many prospective investors even two years ago because of concerns surrounding stability and crime, more vendors and their clients are looking at Honduras in a different light.

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Honduras has increased five points of its competitiveness index according to the Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum.

“The report states that in America, only Honduras (86) reached the rate of 3.98%, climbing five places its competitiveness compared to the period of 2010-2011”, mentioned the source.

Honduras reached a competitiveness index of 3.98, from a maximum of 7 and improved 5 positions in this new ranking.

In the previous year, the performance of its institutions, the macroeconomic environment, and quality of education affected the competitiveness of Honduras, despite the desire of the Government to improve the ability to attract foreign investment and diversify the export supply. However, this year, “the report demonstrates the recovery of confidence and coverage of education”.

CENTRAL AMERICAN REGION

The highest decreases in the region were experienced in some Central American countries – for example Costa Rica dropped five points from 56 to 61; from 78 to 84 Guatemala; …

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Unosquare LLC, with operations in Guadalajara, Mexico and Portland, Oregon, today announced a collocation and business partnership with KM2 Solutions in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Through its established location inside the world class Altia Business Park, KM2 Solutions will provide Unosquare with infrastructure and employer services.

For its end of the partnership Unosquare will provide advancement and training opportunities for KM2 employees. Unosquare provides US customers with software development, testing, and application support services from its nearshore locations. KM2 provides contact center services from its nearshore locations and both companies leverage the lower cost labor pool and same time zone advantages for their US clients.

“This partnership will give KM2 Solutions call center employees, our most valuable resource, more options to expand their own career,” said Maggi Williams, Chief Global Strategy Officer for KM2. The partnership is intended to advance and expand the lifecyle of a nearshore contact center worker by giving …

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By Dan Berthiaume

An increasing number of innovative global IT companies are launching in Latin America using a hybrid model where some employees and resources are located in Latin America and some are located in the US. Serial entrepreneur and Colombian native Andres Barreto, who at 24 has already launched three successful global technology firms, knows first-hand about the benefits the hybrid model offers.

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Source: Calgary Herald

Prime Minister Stephen Harper may have wrapped up his visit to Latin America where a number of trade initiatives were announced, but his government remains busy forging links with Canada’s neighbours to the south.

Diane Ablonczy, minister of state of foreign affairs (Americas and consular affairs), is travelling across Canada to discuss trade and investment in the Americas with stakeholders, including academics, business executives, researchers and members of non-governmental organizations who work in or have operations in those countries.

“You need to be talking to people, exchanging ideas, working together with them and forming partnerships on issues of concern,” Ablonczy said Wednesday, following a one-day stop in Calgary to meet with oil and gas representatives at Nexen and Talisman Energy, and University of Calgary researchers.

“This position here, the minister of state for the Americas, is a full-time focus on that kind of bridge building, partnership building and …

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By Brendan Wolters | The Solace Group

There has been a push toward regionalization in Central America. Government and business leaders understand the importance of uniting a region inhabited by an estimated 42,000,000 people. Officials believe they must work together to build economies that compete on a global scale.

As El Salvador President Mauricio Funes said at a summit meeting in 2010, “Only by joining forces would we be able to lift our peoples from . . . poverty.” But, much like everything else in Central America, regionalization has moved at a snail’s pace. Each country faces political, social, and economic challenges that hamper development. (See the section at the end of this article for a snapshot of each country’s current economic situation.)

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Atlanta, Georgia – KM2 Solutions LLC, a leading provider of Near Shore BPO services today announced the opening of a new Contact Center in The Altia Business and Technology Park located in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Plans to develop operations in Honduras were initiated in response to both the needs of KM2’s fortune 500 client base and the continued growth in the market for high quality bilingual services located close to North American markets. The new facility, which includes state of the art technology in a LEED certified building and access to Honduras’s English language skills, will be the company’s fourth, location. The new location will allow KM2 Solutions to continue to grow with existing clients and implement new clients and services in a strategic location with modern infrastructure and access to Honduras world class telecommunications infrastructure.

“The opening of KM2 Solutions new San Pedro Sula office is an important step towards …

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Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya left his refuge in the Brazilian Embassy and flew into exile Wednesday, ending months of turmoil and his thwarted quest to be restored to power after a June 28 coup that drew international condemnation.

The leftist leader drove past soldiers guarding the diplomatic compound in long caravan and headed for the airport accompanied by President Porfirio Lobo, said Hilda Cruz, an assistant of Zelaya’s wife.

Zelaya was going to the Dominican Republic as a private citizen under a deal signed by Lobo and the Caribbean country’s President Leonel Fernandez, who flew to Honduras to accompany the former president.

Zelaya has not elaborated on plans for his future. But just before boarding the plane, he shouted: “We’ll be back! We’ll be back!”

Thousands of supporters gathered outside the airport yelled “Mel, our friend, the people are with you!” as his plane took off.

Lobo, who was sworn into office hours …

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