Speakers

• Arminio Fraga, Founding Partner, Gávea Investimentos
• William R. Rhodes, Chairman Emeritus, AS/COA; President, William R. Rhodes Global Advisors LLC
• Susan Segal, President and CEO, Americas Society/Council of the Americas

On July 22, Council of the Americas hosted a discussion with Arminio Fraga, Brazilian economist and president of the Central Bank of Brazil from 1999-2003; William R. Rhodes, president of William R. Rhodes Global Advisors LLC; and Susan Segal, president and CEO of AS/COA. Panelists offered a historic perspective and lessons learned from past economic crises and debt restructurings in the region.

Speakers:

• Carlos Mario Giraldo, CEO, Grupo Éxito
• Erika Herrero, CEO, Belcorp
• Claudio Muruzabal, Chairman, SAP Latin America and Caribbean; President, SAP EMEA South
• Walter Pimenta, Senior Vice President, Products and Innovation, Mastercard
• Gabriela Frías, CNN en Español (moderator)

Consumers are more demanding than ever: they want their orders to arrive immediately, accurately, and efficently, said retail executives in a COA Symposium panel on how consumer behavior trends are changing. The shutdowns and quarantines have accelerated trends that originally were thought to be five years down the road, said Belcorp CEO Erika Herrero. Ecommerce is up an “astonishing” 35 percent year-over-year, said Mastercard’s Walter Pimenta, which is all the more impressive considering the travel and entertainment cateogry—which usually accounts for one-third of sales—is virtually non-existent. Grupo Éxito’s Carlos Mario Giraldo pointed out how consumers are buying more locally produced goods and “privileging the local economy because they’re sure it will have a very important impact in employment.” He also noted how consumers are visiting fewer stores these days but making higher-ticket purchases when they do. “Whoever comes to a store or comes online is serious about making a very effective purchase.” And SAP Latin America’s Claudio Muruzabal laid out three things companies can do today: Understand the consumer has changed in permanent ways and make sure you have the digital tools to serve them. Second, have a well-aligned manufacturing-to-consumer chain that can be retrofitted in days if not hours. And lastly, don’t forget your employees. “They’ll work in a different way and will define the success of your business,” he said.

Speakers:

• Sergio Amaral, Trustee at CEBRI, former Brazilian Ambassador to the United States
• Brian Winter, Editor-in-Chief, Americas Quarterly
• Cecilia Tornaghi, Managing Editor, Americas Quarterly (moderator)

"We [Brazilians] think we are Europeans, but we are Americans," said former Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergio Amaral, showing his confidence of a continued solid bilateral relationship based on values and a friendship strenghened by the affinities between Presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump. In a discussion with AS/COA Vice President for Policy Brian Winter about the implications of the U.S. elections on Brasília-Washington ties, Amaral presented tough choices for Brazil, no matter the results in November. A Trump reelection could mean a difficult position for Latin American economies that would involve juggling China and the United States, which, Winter pointed out, is already a very polarized discussion in Brazil. In the case of a Joe Biden win, the Democrat's support for a bigger state role on the economy and a Green New Deal would mean "our agendas will not match," said Amaral, explaining relations would still be cordial, but countries should prepare for recurrent frictions.