13-11-2014: Latin American Weekly Report

The presidents of Chile and Peru, Michelle Bachelet and Ollanta Humala respectively, gathered in China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit this week. The two heads of state face remarkably similar challenges. Both took office promising to introduce ambitious reforms to bring about more socio-economic equality but both are presiding over the worst economic slowdowns in their countries since the global financial crisis in 2008. Both have sent a series of economic stimulus packages to congress in recent months in an attempt to fire up their flagging economies; and both arrived in Beijing desperate to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).