The best economic prospects in this region lie in more modestly sized cities like Santiago, the capital of resource-rich Chile, and even Campinas, Brazil, a growing smaller city--with 3 million residents--that lies outside the congested Sao Paolo region.

FORBES: New Geographer

The fire led President Dilma Roussef to cancel a series of meetings she had scheduled at a summit of Latin American and European leaders in Chile's capital of Santiago, and was headed to Santa Maria, according to the Brazilian foreign ministry.

NPR: 245 Die In Panicky Stampede In Brazil Club Fire

For example, every dollar of GDP generated in Chile's capital, Santiago, requires 60% more energy than a dollar of GDP generated in (much colder) Helsinki in Finland.

ECONOMIST: Productivity in Latin America

First, 30% of all non-equity capital entering Chile must be deposited without interest at the central bank for one year.

ECONOMIST: Can capital controls stop poor countries crashing?

However, economists disagree about the effectiveness of Chile's short-term capital controls.

ECONOMIST: Time to turn off the tap?

In 1991 Chile imposed an implicit tax on inflows of short-term capital to reduce the aggregate inflow.

ECONOMIST: Hot and cold running money | The

But Chile's judicial system is like the famously polluted atmosphere of its capital: what both need to clean them up is a howling gale.

ECONOMIST: Chile: The justice and the politicians | The

Just 47% of households in the region have sewerage, half the share in greater Santiago, Chile's capital.

ECONOMIST: Argentina��s state-owned firms