LATIN AMERICAN TRADE, POLITICAL & CULTURAL COMMENTARY
Columnist & Editor: Thomas Manning
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The 10th of April is known in New Zealand as 'Wahine Day' and commemorates the 1968 sinking of interisland ferry Wahine and the loss of 53 lives during the worst storm in New Zealand history. Thomas Manning who, as a teenager boy, helped in the rescue of survivors washed ashore near his home at the mouth of Wellington harbour shares his reflections on the 57th anniversary of the disaster . A Young Rescuer's Tale
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Competition vs Cooperation
“Competition is always a good thing, it forces us to do our best while a monopoly renders people complacent and satisfied with mediocrity,” the US writer Nancy Pearcey... |
Sweet Sorrow
The confusion I feel every time business or family commitments take me away from Buenos Aires is aptly typified by Shakespeare’s love-stricken Juliet’s words “parting is... |
The Interface of Art & Power
Argentine art collector Eduardo Costantini has announced he will exhibit his recent purchase, Diego Rivera’s biggest ever canvas 'Dance in Tehuantepec', at his MALBA gallery... |
A Slice of Heaven
On the basis of English writer Virginia Woolf’s observation that “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well”... |
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Weighed in the Balance
Susana Malcorra’s nomination for appointment as United Nations Secretary-General is a win/win for the Macri government... |
A Tale of Two Cities
“Walkers are the practitioners of a city, for a city is made to be walked. A city is a language, a repository of possibilities... |
Business as usual
The announcement by the Communications Ministry unveiling new rules to open up competition in the mobile telephone market is good news... |
Bats out of Hell
Buenos Aires City’s bus services, the ubiquitous colectivos, in their coverage, frequency and even after recent fare hikes, low cost are without peer in Latin America... |
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Remembering the Brave ANZAC Troops
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.” These poignant words are from For the Fallen, a poem eulogizing... |
The ex-ESMA Concentration Camp
Attending the preview of Jayson McNamara’s powerful human rights documentary ‘Messenger on a White Horse’ on Saturday last was a visceral experience... |
The First Shall be Last
Carrefour Express has just concluded a much-publicized competition in which a Christmas Hamper was won by a lucky shopper in every Express store throughout Argentina... |
The Kiwi & the Condor; Mark II
As a New Zealander who has done business in Argentina since 1990 and as a past Vice-President of the Latin America New Zealand Business Council, it is an auspicious week... |
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Kiwi is Also a K Word
I am very well served by the Buenos Aires Herald for news but I have to admit I cannot resist reading NZ newspapers on-line to keep my finger on the pulse in those remote isles... |
Hell on Earth
A portal to a hitherto unknown Tenth Circle of Hell has opened up in the section of Viamonte Street between Reconquista and Avenida Leandro N. Alem in Buenos Aires City... |
A Whale of a Walrus
Two new and rival alternate Argentine National Anthems have recently emerged. The first is a short and punchy operatic aria called “Blue Sin Techo”... |
Aerolineas Soars Again
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has many detractors and it’s fair to say her second term as president has been a rocky road with her “model” beset by... |
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The Kiwi & the Condor
The majestic Andean condor and the NZ kiwi are an unlikely pairing yet the canny little Kiwi has valiantly wooed the Condor and entered in its jealously-guarded nest... |
High Flying, Adored?
Cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich was reported in the Herald on 27 May as praising Aerolíneas’ high standards of service and guaranteeing connectivity in Argentina... |
Below the Belt Down Under
As a New Zealander I am long accustomed to our Aussie cousins appropriating NZ's cultural icons as their own... |
Kiwi Delegation Seeks to Strengthen Ties
The visit of a NZ parliamentary delegation headed by Speaker Lockwood Smith in the second half of this week has been shrewdly timed... |
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AJ Hackett Helibungy in Buenos Aires
August 9, 1993 AJ Hackett undertakes the first ever helibungy in Latin America over Puerto Madero in Buneos Aires... |
Latin America Columnist; Thomas Manning
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Left vs Right in Latin America
Economic policies combining privatisations and austerity (known universally as “neoliberalism”) were the order of the day throughout Latin America during the last decade which saw an increase in regional poverty and inequality and caused a popular backlash which has recently seen over nine right-wing presidents perish at the ballot box.... |
The Evolution of Trade
Adam Smith’s 1776 treatise ‘The Wealth of Nations’ contains his famous observation that ‘trade is the lifeblood of nations’. Smith recognised that the most economically and culturally developed nations in history owed their success to trade. In New Zealand’s case its 1st World status is owed entirely to trade during its colonial and dominion eras... . |
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A Double Whammy
Economic shockwaves from missiles exploding in Ukraine are reverberating across the world as Russia’s imperialist aggression is driving commodity prices through the roof and in a toxic correlation, further stoking inflation already ablaze from COVID-related quantitative easing.... |
From the Cradle to the Grave
Promising to make Chile “a dignified and just country” and a “welfare state” its new president, Gabriel Boric, has foreshadowed a progressive social, ecological and feminist agenda for his administration.... |
A Stitch in Time
Successive New Zealand governments, mindful of the danger of overdependence on Asian and European export markets, have worked with a variety of multilateral forums to deepen trade with Latin America..... |
The playboy president
The only Argentine President to have paid a state visit to New Zealand is Carlos Saúl Menem who died this year on Saint Valentine’s Day in Buenos Aires, aged 90.... |
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Value Over Volume
Stuart Nash, New Zealand’s newly minted Minister of Tourism, has announced Tourism NZ’s future marketing would target “high-net-worth individuals”. NZ can look to Costa Rica as an example of a country that has transformed itself into a high-end tourism destination by building on the reputation of its unique flora and fauna.... |
Long Way Up
Epic motorcycle journeys into vast, remote lands have long been enduringly popular subjects for film and television. The most prominent example of the genre must be the 2004 feature film ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ which depicted the 20th Century’s most iconic revolutionary, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara as he rode a 1939 Norton 500cc into the furthest reaches of South America.... |
Into the Breach
According to Economic Development NZ’s Dr David Wilson, New Zealand can emerge relatively unscathed from the COVID-19 pandemic if businesses focus on being connected, responsive, adaptive and fleet-footed in a joinedup NZ Inc. approach..... |
NZTE to the Rescue
Since it was first established by Mike Moore as ‘TradeCom’ in 1986, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) has played a vital part in the quadrupling of New Zealand’s export trade (from 1986’s $21bn to 2019’s $83.6bn) and in the post-COVID-19 world, NZTE is poised to play an even more critically important role.... |
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China's Swan Song
After emerging in Wuhan the Covid-19 virus has turned global trade on its head by disrupting critical supply chains from China to international markets in a classic example of ‘force majeure’ which the Oxford Dictionary defines as a legal term for “Unforeseeable circumstances that prevent the fulfilment of a contract”.... |
A Man For All Seasons
‘Fish & chips’ and having a ‘cuppa’ are ubiquitous Kiwi traditions that are emblematic of the political career of the recently deceased Mike Moore, New Zealand’s 34th Prime Minister, which saw him evolve from traditional Labour Party protectionist to leader of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)..... |
The Weight of Numbers
Financial index and rating services company Standard & Poor (S&P), predict the Latin American GDP will grow less than 2% in 2020 because of investment uncertainty arising from volatile social and political instability..... |
Neoliberal denouement in Chile
Free trade, minimal taxation and government spending coupled with the privatisation of public assets and services have all been defining features of the Chilean economy since the mid-1970s..... |
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Flight of the Phoenix
It is often said that politics is theatre. This has been especially true during the past four years in Argentina, which have been a high-stakes melodrama along Kafkaesque lines, redolent with existential anxiety, alienation and absurdity..... |
Simón Bolívar’s Legacy
To do business in Latin America often means having to contend with protectionist trade policies, and why this is so has been unexpectedly answered in an unlikely quarter.... |
Black Gold Bonanza for Guyana
Oil royalties over the next decade will make Guyana the richest nation in South America, and possibly the world, as GDP per capita is set to triple or quadruple, according to the World Bank.... |
Crouching Tiger
The Great Wall of China is purportedly the largest cemetery on earth, as it entombs the many millions of forced labourers and prisoners who were pitilessly worked to death during the Wall’s construction.... |
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Brazil's new Messiah
Jair Messias Bolsonaro (whose middle name means Messiah), an ultra-conservative who openly admires Brazil’s last military dictatorship is the new President of Brazil. He has pledged to clamp-down hard on crime, political correctness, indigenous & minority rights... |
Quid Pro Quo
Venezuela was once Latin America’s most prosperous nation thanks to the largest petroleum reserves in the world and was until 2015, New Zealand’s biggest export market in Latin America... |
Demented Reef Fish
Former NZ Prime Minister David Lange aptly likened the behaviour of investment markets to “demented reef fish”, whose skittish behaviour is driven by a combination of greed, fear and panic... |
New Broom in Mexico Good News for NZ
In Mexico, left-wing politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known by his initials AMLO) has won the presidency in a landslide, with the highest number of votes in Mexican history... |
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Muy Simpatico, Mr Tabuteau
The NZ Government has appointed Fetcher Tabuteau, as Parliamentary Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, to strengthen NZ’s relationships with Latin American countries. |
Latin American trade trifecta in sight for New Zealand
In horse racing parlance, the recently-signed CPTPP, is the first leg of a trade trifecta which will enable New Zealand to ramp-up its exports to Latin America... |
Trump fire also risks Latin American fury
Latin American nations have borne the brunt of US President Donald Trump’s pejorative rhetoric. In addition, his protectionist ambitions undermine the region’s prospects and economic equilibrium..... |
Outlook Improving for Latin America
Effective steps are finally being taken to eradicate the scourge of entrenched corruption that has bedeviled Latin America for centuries..... |
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Transpolar flight grows NZ trade opportunities in Latin America
Airline services strengthen New Zealand’s ability to engage with its key trading partners, helping build people-to-people connections and understanding of foreign business practice and culture.... |
Fake News
When it comes to selling newspapers or dominating TV ratings. the media’s rule of thumb is “If it bleeds, it leads”, and reporting on Latin America is no exception to the rule... |
Buying Brazilian
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) is considering buying a Brazilian-made aircraft, in a departure from traditional procurement practice... |
El Dorado Calling
Arriviste United States President Donald Trump’s incorrigible nationalism and xenophobia are morphing into trade protection and anti-immigrant policies... |
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Latin America’s annus horribilis
A malign convergence of low commodity prices, endemic corruption and legal perversion curtailed Latin America’s economic development in 2016..... |
The Trump Effect in Latin America
After an extended period of left-wing populism Latin America has recently moved to the political centre and the pro-business leaders now in charge of the region’s biggest... |
Opportunities for NZ in Cuba
Lucrative business and investment opportunities are emerging in Cuba for New Zealand exports as a result of business and banking sector reforms..... |
Argentina's Bright Prospects
While business media coverage of Latin America continues to be dominated by bad news, there is definitely another side to the story.,,,, |
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Steady Regional Growth Despite Unrest
Political and economic news from Latin American has recently been dominated by drastic reforms in Argentina, chaos in Brazil... |
Mixed Outlook for Latam Markets in 2016
The NZ Government's "pivot" in its international trade policy toward Latin America last year was a timely strategy... |
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A New Opportunity for the Commercial and Vacation Traveler from the Oceania Air Hub to South America.....
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Thomas Manning's view of Latin America's favourite city, Buenos Aires and its superb cuisine...
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Investment opportunities in Argentina for New Zealand exporters and investors, 2016 report...
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Air NZ announces direct Boeing 777 - 200 transpolar flights to Buenos Aires
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Costa Rica Trade Minister Alexander Mora speaks about the opportunities in Costa Rica for New Zealand exporters especially in the IT, Agritech and Services sectors...
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Prime Minister John Key's successful Trade Mission to Latin America has opened new doors for New Zealand businesses...
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Photo Journal of Prime Minister John Key's Trade Mission to Mexico, Colombia, Brazil & Chile...
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Aerolineas has announced a partnership with Air New Zealand to offer through-fares for a one stop service from NZ to Buenos Aires...
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The commentariat gets it wrong when NZ PM John Key decides not to attend Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez's funeral...
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'Government considers lifeline for train service'
Sunday Star Times, 24 Sept. 2006 'Investors in talks on luxury rail trip' The Dominion, 7 Sept 2006. 'Luxury train plan welcomed' The Dominion, 8 Sept. 2006 'New Auckland to Wellington rail service floated' New Zealand Herald.-20 May 2008 '$6.5m plan for faster Overlander' The Dominion Post. - 20 May 2008 'Manning Group eyes Overlander' Television New Zealand - 20 May 2008 'The Insider' New Zealand Herald - 23 May 2008 |
'Boutique Hotel oozing charm'
Tongariro Crossing Lodge Review - Travel Section, Sunday Star Times 21 December 2003 Staff writer |
'Taking the plunge in Argentina'
Evening Post Interview with Thomas Manning about Manning Group and AJ Hackett's Puerto Madero Development Project and Heli-Bungy. Evening Post July 27, 1993 Writer Richard MacLean |
'South America beckons NZ firms'
Manning Group and Shotover Jet Limited Host a Delegation of Officials from San Carlos de Bariloche including Sra. Chichi Costa, Mayor of Barioche & Sr. Raul Otero, Argentine Tourism Secretariat Delegate for Patagonia. Christchurch Press, 28 June 1994 Staff Writer |
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'Eating Houses in Canterbury'
Authors, Pauline Clayton, Sir Michael Fowler, Jeff Kennedy, Thomas Manning Published by Anchor Communications Limited 1982 |
'Scandals Restaurant', Christchurch
The New Zealander Magazine Writers Deborah Coddington & Alister Taylor September Edition, 1980 |
'bad blood' - AUGUSTUS MAINWARING
Published by Manning Group Limited
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The much sought-after 'Bad Blood' series from the enigmatic New Zealand writer Sir Augustus Mainwaring Lynch Bt. 'Bad Blood' readers will be transported throughout Latin America on gut-wrenching journeys encompassing the full gamut of human relationships, unrequited love, horrendous violence and horrible betrayal. |
When Augustus Mainwaring set out from New Zealand for Mexico via Argentina in December 2008 little did he know that the journey would lead to his writing a series of stories which became the basis for a famous Latin American 'telenovela' (television soap opera) called 'Bad Blood' ('Mala Sangre' in Spanish).
'Bad Blood Prologue' is the fascinating story of Augustus' journey and how he became a writer.
Augustus' first story 'Demise of the Pig People' is a riveting tale set in Mexico concerning a Mexican heartthrob called Adonis Poderoso Chingada and his relatives and how in a stunning twist of fate they are sucked into a vortex of blackmail, passion, revenge and murder when they become involved with the fabulously wealthy Lamborgina family.
Subsequent stories Augustus came to write are equally shocking and contentious and they too served as the basis for plots in the top-rating Mala Sangre TV series with ‘Mas Mala Sangre’ (More Bad Blood’), ‘Bastante Mala Sangre’ (Plenty of Bad Blood’), ‘Demasiado Mala Sangre’ (Too Much Bad Blood) and ‘Aun Mas Mala Sangre’ (Even More Bad Blood).
