Editor’s Note: Emerging Issues

Latin Trade’s main feature in this issue takes a look at a number of aspiring leaders, who may be ready to make a run for president, hoping to parlay a track record of practical solutions in local government or long sojourns in politics into national electoral appeal. The political profiles are not about making predictions and they only begin to cover the array of emerging leaders across Latin America and the Caribbean.

But the articles look beyond the daily headlines to try to offer another look at politicians. Certainly, some recent elections in the hemisphere have signaled the voters’ desire for change, a contrast to nations where re-election has become the norm.

One of the hallmarks of these emerging leaders is the emphasis on public works instead of ideology. But whether this approach will work remains to be seen. There has been no waning of the battle over ideologies as was predicted by Francis Fukuyama and his “end of history.” In many countries, inequality prevents a national consensus on economic or political policy. But there are many cases where leadership is working to improve the lives of residents.

Also, check out our series of stories on how businesses that service trade – from logistics companies to global carriers to ports – are confronting the challenges from the rapid fall in exports and imports worldwide. If there were one word to describe the survivors, it would be “nimble.”

We also chronicle how large multinational corporations are adjusting their social responsibility programs to the economic downturn, trying to make the projects self-sustaining and to do more with less.

Attempting to do more takes on new dimensions with the recent swine flu panic involving Mexico. The fear of epidemic started with dramatic scenes of Mexico’s empty streets, schools and soccer stadiums as the government fought to halt the spread. As the number of deaths remained relatively low, even with the number of cases climbing, the world’s reaction – to what the media is belatedly dubbing the H1N1 influenza – has become more measured. A disease that held out the threat to disrupt global economic activity has proven to be less virulent than first feared and some health officials are finally allowing themselves to exhale.

What this flu outbreak underscored is the fragility of globalization: that fear can spread quickly in a world of 24-hour newscasts, much as financial markets crumbled like dominoes after the credit crunch slammed Wall Street and the U.S. economy last fall. Some countries restricted flights to or from Mexico; others allowed trade and people to flow freely. But flu has only made a bad situation worse in Mexico, which was already battling recession and continued violence from organized crime.

As always, feel free to send along your comments about the magazine.

JANE BUSSEY jbussey@miamimedia.net

Editorial Director