FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT BY SPAIN IN LATIN AMERICA: BRAZIL, ARGENTINA AND MEXICO

This paper analyzes the evolution of Spanish foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America in recent years (from the 1990s through 2012). Additionally, a summary of the primary explanatory factors of FDI evolution in the three countries with the highest indices of Spanish investment (Brazil, Argentina and Mexico) is performed. The study finds that of the four factors analyzed (exchange rate, inflation, risk premium and gross domestic product (GDP)), only the exchange rate offers a significant and adequate (negative) relation as an explanatory factor of FDI evolution.