Latin America

Slinging fish tacos at a stall in Grand Central Market on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles was never Ana Sanchez's idea of heaven. But the job pays enough so that she can wire money to her mother and daughter in Mexico, and last year she sent $1,500. This year Sanchez, 44, reckons they'll be lucky to receive half that. With her wages stagnant and the cost of living climbing, her family in Jalisco state will have to do without. "If it gets bad I won't be able to send any money anymore," Sanchez, a Commerce resident, said Tuesday.

Unless you buy your smartphones and mini-tablets in Mexico, the Caribbean or Central and South America, chances are you've never heard of InfoSonics Corp. The San Diego company designs, manufactures and sells wireless handsets and other devices, such as tablets, to other manufacturers, distributors and consumers. Its research and development center is in Beijing. The company also maintains a small quality-control office in Shenzhen, China, close to its manufacturing facilities.

For all its miscues at home, General Motors Corp. has built a powerhouse operation in Latin America, where its fuel-efficient vehicles could play a crucial role in returning the battered company to health. Since it filed for bankruptcy a month ago, the automaker has been striking deals to shed much of its operations, including its Hummer, Saturn and Saab brands and its Opel division in Europe. GM is closing more North American factories, laying off workers and slashing its U.S. dealership ranks.

Frankfurt is a thriving financial center on the Main River that some Germans have taken to calling “Bankfurt,” but the locals take greater pride in their literary culture. Among other things, the father of German letters, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, was born there.  It is also home to the world's largest book fair. So I shouldn't have been surprised to find a “ Literaturhaus ” smack in the middle of the city. The neoclassical 19th century building, once home to the city library, was the site of a literary festival to which I was invited to last week.

Latin America has had a good decade. Over the last 10 years, economic growth averaged 4.2%, and 70 million people escaped poverty. Macroeconomic stability, open-trade policies and pro-business investment climates have supported and will continue to support strong growth in the years to come. Crucially, economic gains are being broadly shared. A recent World Bank report found that the middle class in Latin America grew by 50 million people between 2003 and 2009, an increase of 50%. For a region long riven by wealth inequality, this is a remarkable achievement.

Latin America's role Re "Lula takes risk with Ahmadinejad," Nov. 23 Yes, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's taking a risk meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- but Lula's not anybody's proxy, and with Latin America so often ignored, Brazil can decide with whom to meet without asking anyone's permission. Ahmadinejad's plan for a new global order to be formed with Africa and Latin America (Brazil and Venezuela in particular) could be bluster or could be serious.

The amount of money U.S. immigrants send to their families in Latin America has more than doubled since 2000, and the cash flow home -- except to Mexico -- has recovered from a considerable drop during the Great Recession, a 13-year survey of remittance trends shows. For years, remittances have far outpaced foreign aid in helping lift people out of poverty in Latin America, the study released Friday by Pew Research Center notes. In 2011, remittances totaled $53.1 billion, more than eight times the amount of official aid, the report says.

Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign has rekindled debate within the Catholic Church and worldwide speculation about the possibility that the church will reach beyond the European clergy who have long held power in the Vatican to choose the next pope. With an eye to vibrant Catholic communities in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, the Sacred College of Cardinals may weigh the pros and cons of selecting the next pope from another continent. Here are cardinals believed to be possible choices: Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of Ghana is an African prelate seen as a top contender, and at 64 would be better positioned than older candidates to carry on the doctrine of John Paul II and Benedict XVI through what could be a time of growing Catholic influence in the developing world.

Re "A Stain Spreads Across Latin America," Commentary, April 25: Sergio Munoz sounds quixotic when it comes to solving the problem of criminality in Latin America. The real problem is not institutional weakness but poverty and unchecked population growth (too many beggars for the crumbs falling off the capitalists' tables). The Latin American countries can no longer sustain their population growths, but they continue to breed mindlessly out of superstition and ignorance. Open, democratic societies and the rule of law are abstractions.

MEDITERRANEAN Sites of holy, secular past Sail away on a weeklong Mediterranean cruise that charts a course to ancient towns, historical ruins and important shrines, including a Turkish site reputed to be the former home of the Virgin Mary. In Istanbul, see the imposing Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. Accommodations are aboard the 500-cabin Costa Serena, which has five restaurants, 13 bars and four swimming pools. Itinerary: Venice, to Bari, Italy, Olympia, Greece; Izmir and Istanbul in Turkey; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and back to Venice.

Robert A. Pastor, an influential scholar and policymaker who spent decades working for better inter-American relations and democracy and free elections in the Western Hemisphere, died Wednesday at his home in Washington, D.C., after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 66. His death was announced by American University, where Pastor was a professor in the School of International Service. Pastor had been President Carter's national security adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker unveiled a new initiative aimed at increasing business with trade partners in Latin America, only days after the 20th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement's implementation. The Look South initiative encourages U.S. companies to do business with Mexico and the U.S.'s 10 other free trade agreement partners in Central and South America, Pritzker told reporters Thursday before her Los Angeles speech announcing the initiative. Pritzker said there are many untapped business opportunities south of Mexico, which the program hopes to open up for U.S. companies.

Days after the 20th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement's implementation, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker unveiled a new initiative aimed at  increasing business with trade partners in Latin America. The “Look South” initiative encourages American companies to do business with Mexico and the U.S.'s 10 other Free Trade Agreement partners, Pritzker told reporters Thursday before her Los Angeles speech announcing the initiative. Pritzker said there are many untapped business opportunities south of Mexico, which the program hopes to open up for American companies.

Every year, 14-year-old Victor Rios would watch the Rose Parade on a television set in his home in the city of Chitre, Panama, marveling at the floats and bands. He never imagined he would attend the parade in person. Then one day in October 2012, Irving Rodriguez Bernal, the band director at Rios' school, called his students in for a meeting. PHOTOS: 125th Tournament of Roses Parade He had a defeated look on his face and the students grew nervous. They had been waiting for months to hear whether they'd been accepted as participants in the parade.

NEW YORK - The painting once hung in the Cleveland Museum of Art. And there was no shortage of people who wanted it in the crowded Christie's auction room. The artwork, "Women Reaching for the Moon," is a blur of a woman in a red dress. It was painted by Rufino Tamayo, the famed Mexican creator of abstract works that combine European and Latino influ- ences. Though bidding started at $500,000, it quickly reached $1 million. The standing-room-only crowd murmured as auctioneer Adrian Meyer parried with the remaining bidders, and workers wheeled in rows of extra chairs.

The amount of money U.S. immigrants send to their families in Latin America has more than doubled since 2000, and the cash flow home -- except to Mexico -- has recovered from a considerable drop during the Great Recession, a 13-year survey of remittance trends shows. For years, remittances have far outpaced foreign aid in helping lift people out of poverty in Latin America, the study released Friday by Pew Research Center notes. In 2011, remittances totaled $53.1 billion, more than eight times the amount of official aid, the report says.

Expanding its reach from two countries to the entire Western Hemisphere, Netflix Inc. will launch its successful online film and television subscription service across Latin America in a bid to maintain its sky-high subscriber growth and stock price. The Los Gatos, Calif., company, which boasts more than 23.6 million subscribers and has become the nation's No. 1 movie rental provider, announced Tuesday that this year it will expand into 43 countries in South America, Central America and the Caribbean but not Cuba.

Nutritional products maker Herbalife Ltd. reported a nearly 27% jump in third-quarter profit amid double-digit sales growth in China and Latin America. The Los Angeles company reported net income of $142 million, or $1.32 a share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That compares with $111.9 million, or 98 cents, a year earlier. Excluding expenses for non-recurring items, the company earned $1.41 a share, well above analysts' expectations of $1.14 a share. Sales grew 19.3% to $1.2 billion.

The new Toyota Corolla has barely hit car dealers but Toyota is already saying it plans to export the U.S.-built version of the compact sedan to 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean starting next year. Toyota said about 7,500 of the cars, which will be built at the Toyota factory in Tupelo, Miss., will be exported next year. “These shipments are expected to build upon Toyota's all-time record export of more than 124,000 U.S.-assembled vehicles to 21 global markets in 2012, an increase of 45% over the prior year,” the automaker said in a statement.