Read the text below entitled “Beyond Lula” in order to answer questions 14 to 16:

Beyond Lula
Source: Newsweek (Adapted) Oct 11th, 2010

    With the economy booming, poverty falling, and an avid new middle class hitting the supermarkets and malls, Brazil is in a sweet spot. Once a pushover for financial turmoil, Brazil survived the Great Recession largely unscathed and grew at the blistering pace of 10 percent in the first six months of 2010 (though it may cool to 6 or 7 percent by year´s end). With new offshore discoveries boosting its estimated oil reserves to at least 9 billion barrels –and possibly much more- the national oil giant, Petrobras, raised $67billion in late September, the biggest publicshare offering in global financial history. Officials are gussying up the country for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, and arguing over what to do with all the cash and glory that such international showcases bring.

Read the text below entitled “A Latin American decade?” in order to answer questions 11 to 13:

A Latin American decade?
Source: www.economist.com (Adapted) Sep 9th, 2010

    Summit meetings involving Latin America´s presidents are so frequent these days that Mexico´s Mr Calderón has likened diplomacy in the region to a mountain range. Yet for all the talk of regional integration, political Latin America looks more divided than ever. Mr Chávez likes to threaten war against Colombia, which in turn accuses him of harbouring its FARC guerrillas. Sub-regional trade groups such as Mercosur and the Andean Community, which made progress in the 1990s, have stagnated or fallen apart.
    Yet while politicians bicker, corporate Latin America is quietly moving closer together. A growing army of multilatinas have expanded abroad. Some, like Embraer or Bimbo, have become global multinationals. Many others, including Chilean retailers and Brazilian banks and construction firms, have expanded within Latin America. Some Mexican firms, led by América Móvil, a telecoms giant, are moving into Brazil. Until recently such firms tended to list their shares in New York, but now a Latin American capital market is poised to emerge. In three to five years there will be a seamless network of Latin American stock exchanges, including Mexico´s, reckons Mr Oliveira of BRAIN Brasil.
    The market-oriented reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, combined with a few years of commoditydriven prosperity, are transforming Latin American business.

Read the text below entitled “A Latin American decade?” in order to answer questions 11 to 13:

A Latin American decade?
Source: www.economist.com (Adapted) Sep 9th, 2010

    Summit meetings involving Latin America´s presidents are so frequent these days that Mexico´s Mr Calderón has likened diplomacy in the region to a mountain range. Yet for all the talk of regional integration, political Latin America looks more divided than ever. Mr Chávez likes to threaten war against Colombia, which in turn accuses him of harbouring its FARC guerrillas. Sub-regional trade groups such as Mercosur and the Andean Community, which made progress in the 1990s, have stagnated or fallen apart.
    Yet while politicians bicker, corporate Latin America is quietly moving closer together. A growing army of multilatinas have expanded abroad. Some, like Embraer or Bimbo, have become global multinationals. Many others, including Chilean retailers and Brazilian banks and construction firms, have expanded within Latin America. Some Mexican firms, led by América Móvil, a telecoms giant, are moving into Brazil. Until recently such firms tended to list their shares in New York, but now a Latin American capital market is poised to emerge. In three to five years there will be a seamless network of Latin American stock exchanges, including Mexico´s, reckons Mr Oliveira of BRAIN Brasil.
    The market-oriented reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, combined with a few years of commoditydriven prosperity, are transforming Latin American business.

Read the text below entitled “A Latin American decade?” in order to answer questions 11 to 13:

A Latin American decade?
Source: www.economist.com (Adapted) Sep 9th, 2010

    Summit meetings involving Latin America´s presidents are so frequent these days that Mexico´s Mr Calderón has likened diplomacy in the region to a mountain range. Yet for all the talk of regional integration, political Latin America looks more divided than ever. Mr Chávez likes to threaten war against Colombia, which in turn accuses him of harbouring its FARC guerrillas. Sub-regional trade groups such as Mercosur and the Andean Community, which made progress in the 1990s, have stagnated or fallen apart.
    Yet while politicians bicker, corporate Latin America is quietly moving closer together. A growing army of multilatinas have expanded abroad. Some, like Embraer or Bimbo, have become global multinationals. Many others, including Chilean retailers and Brazilian banks and construction firms, have expanded within Latin America. Some Mexican firms, led by América Móvil, a telecoms giant, are moving into Brazil. Until recently such firms tended to list their shares in New York, but now a Latin American capital market is poised to emerge. In three to five years there will be a seamless network of Latin American stock exchanges, including Mexico´s, reckons Mr Oliveira of BRAIN Brasil.
    The market-oriented reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, combined with a few years of commoditydriven prosperity, are transforming Latin American business.