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Economic Freedom: Argentina, Mexico Improve
Mexico's oil company Pemex most valuable brand in Latin America.
BY LATINVEX STAFF
The economies of Argentina and Mexico are among the few in Latin America that have become freer the past year, while those of Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru became less free, according to the 2018 Index of Economic Freedom from the Heritage Foundation.
The index looks at 12 different freedoms in 180 countries worldwide. The 12 are property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness, tax burden, government spending, fiscal health, business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom, trade freedom, investment freedom and financial freedom.
“The rule of law and regulatory efficiency are major problem areas, reflecting long-standing weakness in the protection of property rights, ineffectiveness in the judiciary, and lack of government integrity,” the Heritage Foundation said in a statement announcing the 2018 results.
Chile’s economy remains the freest in Latin America, but Uruguay replaced Colombia in the number two spot.
Meanwhile, Argentina and Mexico saw the strongest improvements in their score, while Bolivia suffered the worst decline, followed by Venezuela and Brazil.
For the second year in a row, Venezuela’s economy ranks as less free than that of Cuba, a nominally Communist country.
Venezuela also ranks as the second-worst economy worldwide, only better than North Korea, according to the Heritage Foundation.
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Economic Freedom: Best & Worst in Latin America |
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|
LA |
GL |
Country |
Score |
Ch 17/16 |
Status |
|
|
1 |
20 |
Chile |
75.2 |
-1.3 |
Mostly Free |
|
|
2 |
38 |
Uruguay |
69.2 |
-0.5 |
Moderately Free |
|
|
3 |
42 |
Colombia |
68.9 |
-0.8 |
Moderately Free |
|
|
4 |
43 |
Peru |
68.7 |
-0.2 |
Moderately Free |
|
|
5 |
54 |
Panama |
67 |
0.7 |
Moderately Free |
|
|
6 |
57 |
Costa Rica |
65.6 |
0.6 |
Moderately Free |
|
|
7 |
63 |
Mexico |
64.8 |
1.2 |
Moderately Free |
|
|
8 |
73 |
Guatemala |
63.4 |
0.4 |
Moderately Free |
|
|
9 |
75 |
El Salvador |
63.2 |
-0.8 |
Moderately Free |
|
|
10 |
82 |
Paraguay |
62.1 |
-0.3 |
Moderately Free |
|
|
11 |
89 |
Dom. Rep. |
61.6 |
-1.3 |
Moderately Free |
|
|
12 |
94 |
Honduras |
60.6 |
1.8 |
Moderately Free |
|
|
13 |
100 |
Nicaragua |
58.9 |
-0.3 |
Mostly Unfree |
|
|
14 |
144 |
Argentina |
52.3 |
1.9 |
Mostly Unfree |
|
|
15 |
153 |
Brazil |
51.4 |
-1.5 |
Mostly Unfree |
|
|
16 |
165 |
Ecuador |
48.5 |
-0.8 |
Repressed |
|
|
17 |
173 |
Bolivia |
44.1 |
-3.6 |
Repressed |
|
|
18 |
178 |
Cuba |
31.9 |
-2 |
Repressed |
|
|
19 |
179 |
Venezuela |
25.2 |
-1.8 |
Repressed |
|
|
Average |
58 |
Mostly Unfree |
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LA: Latin America rank. GL=Global rank |
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Sources: Heritage Foundation, Latinvex (ranking by scores) |
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PEMEX MOST VALUABLE LATAM BRAND
Mexico’s state oil company Pemex has the most valuable brand in Latin America, according the latest ranking from Brand Finance, a London-based business valuation and strategy consultancy.
“This year will be key in order to analyze how Pemex will manage its prominence in the local market as well as how it will extend its brand beyond Mexico’s borders,” Laurence Newell, Brand Finance head for Mexico and Latin America, said in a statement.
According to Brand Finance, the Pemex brand is now worth $8.4 billion, ehad of number two in Latin America – Brazilian bank Itau, with $8 billion and Mexican telecom giant Claro at $61. billion.
Other top brands include Brazilian bank Bradesco, Brazilian state oil giant Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned bank Banco do Brasil and Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol
TEXAS OIL PRODUCERS SUPPORT NAFTA
The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers have announced their support of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after President Donald Trump’s remarks at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland indicated that he may terminate the agreement and begin the negotiations anew.
“The North American Free Trade Agreement is an energy economics success story by virtually every measure,” Petroleum Economist Karr Ingham said in a statement. “It has contributed to growth and jobs in the Texas and US oil and gas industry, it is providing new markets for domestic energy production, and is lowering the costs to consumers in all three countries. Taken as a whole, North America is on the verge of achieving energy self-sufficiency – a longstanding goal that has enjoyed significant advancement under NAFTA.”
The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers represents more than 2,500 independent oil and gas producers in Texas.
In a report, the alliance pointed to the following key facts in favor of NAFTA: natural gas exports to Mexico have increased by well over five times (445%) since 2010, including an estimated 30% in 2017 alone; the U.S. became a net exporter of natural gas in North America by year end 2017 due in large part to rapidly expanding natural gas exports to Mexico and exports of crude oil to Mexico have increased by some 320% since 2010.
“NAFTA … has become a part of our daily oil business lives,” Alliance Chairman Bob Osborne said. “NAFTA is important to Texas, and if renegotiated, its impact on our markets for oil and gas needs to remain positive and profitable.”
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