Executive training for dealing with violent situations seems to be a prerequisite to boarding a plane.
Business opportunities are rarely found across the street. It is no longer easy to find them without traveling, often to places where personal security risks are high. These dangerous places are not thousand of miles away, sometimes it is enough to mistake the route from an office to another within a city, to find ourselves suddenly in no man's land, exposed to kidnap or assault.
Costa Rica, along with Chile and Uruguay, is one of three Latin American countries with level 2 (1 = best, 5 = worst), according to the index developed by FTI Consulting.
With a 3 index, Panama ranks among the safest in Latin America.
The index measures the level of danger to the security of corporations and foreign executives based on the number of homicides and other factors, according to official information from public security institutions, NGOs and criminal research institutes.
Central America is literally being occupied by criminal forces and the result is not only physical but also economic insecurity for its citizens.
Crime and violence, especially that which is generated by organized crime, drug trafficking first, are increasing in the region, while the states seem overwhelmed by the problem.
The analysis by Carlos Mendoza from CABI (Central America Business Intelligence) is focused on the reality in Guatemala and perhaps the points made may only be valid for that country. However, the problem is general for all the Central American countries. States in the region are weak against organized crime and there is no strong reaction in sight from either public, social or business institutions, and the latter should be more than worried about the situation which has a direct impact on the business climate and operating costs. Is it not enough to see what is happening in Mexico?
In an effort to curb violence, Central American governments spent some $6.5 billion in 2006, or nearly 7.7% of the sub-region’s GDP.
The highest spending rates are for Guatemala, with a bill of US$2.29 billion, followed by El Salvador with US$2.10 billion. Costa Rica and Nicaragua registered significantly less with US$ 791 million and US$529 million respectively.