Best practices in Latin America: Asian Institute of Management-Policy Center

College

Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business

Department/Unit

Financial Management Department

Document Type

Archival Material/Manuscript

Publication Date

10-2003

Abstract

Indeed, the Spanish conquistadores have forever made an impact in every aspect of Filipino life. Their influence that spanned more than 400 years can never be denied. From the time"The Cross" was planted by the great Ferdinand Magellan on March 21, 1521 until the fateful day of June 30, 1899 when then President Emilio Aguinaldo commended the besieged Spanish soldiers in the Church of Baler for their loyalty and bravery. Thus, the 12th Congress of the Philippines promulgated that this momentous day be declared a national holiday in remembrance of the act of benevolence that ushered the way in bridging better relations between the Philippines and Spain.
This special relationship with Spain links the Philippines indirectly to Latin America, not to mention its old links with Mexico through the "Galleon Trade". The Philippine-Latin America relations hold significance amidst the growing regionalism and globalization of the world. More than the socio-cultural linkages between Latin America and the Philippines is the need to strengthen bilateral trade and investment relationships. In a recent paper by Palma (2003), the "modest" trade relationship between these countries exhibits great promise. This observation was based on the positive results of the Philippines existing bilateral trade and investment pacts with Chile and Argentina. Furthermore, Palma suggests that the present magnitude of trade and extent of economic integration between Latin America and the so-called ASEAN-5, composed of the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, provides a broad basis for future prospects of trace cooperation between the two sub-regional groupings.
The Philippine-Latin America "connection" can never be denied, and much can be inferred from this lucrative partnership. The parallel socio-cultural dimensions of these countries as its base provides vital information and valuable lessons that specifically the Philippines can learn from. Thus, this paper outlines three "Best Practices in Latin America". It will specifically delve into three topics namely: 1) the Peruvian tax reform; 2) Mexico's experience in NAFTA; and, 3) the Brazilian sugar industry.
The Peruvian tax reform efforts are unique to the Philippines' own journey to a successful tax administration reform. The Peruvian case is a rich well of socio-political and socio-structural experiences that the Philippines can humbly imitate. With the 2003 fiscal deficit of the Philippines already at least PhP 3 trillion, the Peruvian experience deserves clear study and understanding. There is one major factor that stands out in the Peruvian case, and this is obviously the critical political backing that a government institution needs to initiate major reforms and be able to achieve remarkable results in such a short span of time.The assembly and appointment of "the teams" by Manuel B. Estela, the architect of Peruvian tax administration reform, who drafted and designed the "master reform plan" was very crucial at the beginning of the reforms.
On the other hand, Mexico's experience at free trade is another case worthy of examination. It is quite unique because of the free trade agreement it has entered into with the United States and Canada. This paper focused on the specific sector of Mexico's agriculture. The role of government has been the critical part of Mexico's somewhat success at regional economic integration.
Finally, the Brazilian sugar industry, and its experience as the one of the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of sugar and ethanol poses learning opportunities for the Philippines and its coconut industry. The indispensable uses of sugar cane parallels that of the coconut's own varied practical uses. The Brazilian government's role in developing the sugar industry has been critical ingredient in the industry's eventual success. Large public investments and necessary policies supported the sugar industry in Brazil that resulted to maximum gains for Brazil.

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Disciplines

Political Science

Note

Fidel V. Ramos Research Chair in Policy Studies

Keywords

Latin America—Politics and government; Economic development--Latin America; Asian Institute of Management. Policy Center

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