Introduction

• Author: Paulo Marcos Rodrigues Brancher - Carla Amaral de Andrade Junqueira Canero
• Pages: 32-33

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As the world moves closer to a global business framework, busi ness lawyers can

no longer afford to ignore the international components of thei r daily practices. As

companies around the world move from the local to the g lobal, lawyers and busi-

nesspeople face myriad new questions depend ing on different legal tex ts and, most

importantly, the cultura l and legal contexts that t hey encounter.

Amid current fi nancial and economic ha rdships and against the backdrop of

slow-paced recovery in the more developed regions of the world, South A merica

has increasingly att racted the eyes of the world. Though sti ll a region of many

contrasts, the continent plays an i ncreasing role in the business st rategies of multi-

national enterprises. However, South A merica’s legal and business environment is

still highly complex for many.

This book disc usses the legal environ ment for business in the 10 major coun-

tries of South Americ a: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil , Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Para-

guay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The chapters focus on national regulations

that affect compan ies aiming to set up operations in t hese countries, including the

regulatory framework; pu rchase of property; hiri ng of employees; aspects of envi-

ronmental, consumer, and ant itrust legislation; and ot her matters. The objective of

this book is to provide the reader with a com mon language for business and a road

map for investments in South America.

Each chapter has been writ ten by a country coordinati ng author, invited by

the editors, or jointly with coauthors and /or contributors, who offer domestic law

expertise and f irsthand experience, drawing on the knowledge and sk ills obtained

in their day-to-day activ ities advising foreign companies doing busi ness in South

America.

However, due to certain production and space lim itations, the authors were

asked to discuss only the is sues that they consider most import ant in each juris-

diction. Thus, readers should not exp ect to find complete coverage of every legal

aspect of any issue in the followi ng pages.

Introduction