| De la Rua (front) and Cavallo | ||||||
What a difference a year - and a global crisis - make. A year ago Mexico was basking in the warmth of a special relationship with a friendly new US president. There was talk of relaxing controls on Latin Americans entering the US. The world economy looked pretty robust and the IMF held out the promise of a way to avert an Argentine default.
Since then, Washington has abruptly refocused on the Atlantic relationship with traditional allies such as the UK, US border controls are stricter than ever and Latin Americans in New York are pondering the possibility that they might be more secure back home. The global economy has weakened dramatically. And Argentina can't pay its debts.
The collapse of investment banking business in the region is testament to the downturn.