The Reconquest of the New World: Multinational Enterprises and Spain's Direct Investment in Latin America (Political Economy of Latin America)

Due to investments of large amounts in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the 1990s, Spanish firms became major players in the local economies. The importance of this though is not in the amount invested but in the area of investment. Spanish firms bought domestic companies in key areas, such as telecommunications, energy and banking - the sectors which constitute the economic infrastructure of a country. This book examines the factors that triggered the large amounts of Spanish direct investment in Latin America in the 1990s. What seemed to be a risky business in 1990, proved to be very profitable in most cases. There is a review of foreign investment in the area from a historical standpoint as well as a look at theories of direct foreign investment.