Ecuador is set to become the newest entrant to the market-friendly Pacific Alliance trade bloc, putting it on a path to receiving greater foreign investment. The legal markets of Ecuador’s prospective trade partners have opened up to foreign firms more than anywhere else in the region. At a roundtable in Quito law firm partners weighed up whether Ecuador’s local heavyweights should fear what is to come, or if there will be enough work to go around.
As the controversial government of Jair Bolsonaro takes shape in Brazil – with worrying implications for human rights, minorities and the environment – an unprecedented liberalisation programme is substantially changing the country’s economic system. Can it deliver on its promise to attract investors by making Brazil a better place for business?