When we look south of the border beyond Mexico we see Latin America and often we do not know much about them except for they supply raw materials in terms of people and resources for some of the countries operating in the US. We know from President elect Trump many millions of migrants move from south to America in search of better opportunities and higher wages, but we rarely wonder what is so bad they left behind? One of the books about the subject is The Heart that Bleeds Latin America Now by Alma Guillermoprieto published by Vintage Books, NY, 1995. Although the book is old the stories seem to remain the same – a wealthy and somewhat related upper families who control the government and the lower income population trying to make a living beyond subsistence. It also seems the only time the lower income people matter is election time then the upper income families divide the spoils of the government and whatever private sector income there is. Much of the private sector is still part of the feudal system which the rebels would like to destroy.

If you begin to link the countries together similar to other puzzles in the world, one will understand why the old war on drugs was bound to fail. In Bolivia coca crops are legal (the Spanish gave the mixture to the mine workers for generations in lieu of paying them well for the silver; in Columbia for a while the Columbian gangs did an excellent business plan to ensure money circulated in the areas the government did not service and could also provide protection for the Columbian gangs; in Panama once the money was put into the banking system it was concerned clean; or in other words depending on the country depends on how the government would want a war on drugs to succeed. Of course if American buyers would not buy then the system would have shut down. If you jump to 2016 is a possible truce between the rebels and the government in Columbia.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, for most consumer stocks as long as there is a good middle income in the country consumer staples can be sold and maybe that is all you need to worry about. The middle income and a growing middle income group in any country helps buy the consumer goods which keeps the economy moving. How well the economy is balanced between the rest of the population maybe not be something you can control. For you consumer companies operating beyond North America check out the growth of the middle income to determine how much growth you should expect.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.