I just finished reading Time's excellent story on Ben Bernanke as their Person of the Year. I also see many people discussing the top stories of 2009, including a few looking at Latin America.What strikes me is a top story of 2009 for Latin America may be the story that didn't happen. There was no massive economic collapse amid the global financial crisis. Some countries had worse years than others, with Mexico taking a particularly large hit. Brazil did better than many other countries; it had a mild recession and should come booming back next year. Latin America as a whole should have a relatively good 2010 considering what the global financial system just went through.
There are plenty of reasons for this. Brazil's sound macroeconomic policy over the past two decades certainly deserves some of the biggest praise as well as smart targeted action by Lula's government and Brazil's Central Bank over the past 18 months.
Somewhere within those factors for Latin America and Brazil in particular is Ben Bernanke. Early in the crisis, lack of financial liquidity was among the key issues for Latin America. Back in October 2008 the US Federal Reserve opened a US$30 billion credit line to Brazil and Mexico among others. The credit line was extended in April. The US Fed's willingness act decisively early on and open up credit lines was a strong signal of US support and quite possibly prevented a more significant spiral downwards for the region's two largest economies.
The hypothetical is impossible to know, but it's interesting to speculate.
