The Latin America class today was very humbling. The teacher's is truly excellent. Her breadth of knowledge and her network of connections in the region are incredible.
The students are all extremely acute and all of the comments that were made, both from Septembers and from Januaries made me consider the region from a different angle. Very pertinent comments from the Brazilians, the Argentinian and Peruvians today.

The professor interrupted our comments about whether state owned companies were a good thing or not: "you are thinking about these countries from the perspective of a rich country. Think about it with the perspective of a poor country. In poor countries, the tax system is inefficient. Rich people who could pay taxes manage their way around paying through corruption and bribes. Poor people cannot afford to pay taxes and would revolt if more were to be levied. So state-owned companies are the only way that governments can get revenues."