Why Argentina?
I hope to have this job for the next 20 years. I knew at the start that I would need to specialize in one country, because Transrio is small, and has to keep its focus. The countries I know best are the United States, Bolivia, Mexico, and Argentina. Of the three Latin American countries Argentina has by far the best feeling for me overall, based on what I’m hoping to do with Transrio.
I love Bolivia, but establishing a business there right now feels like fighting somebody else’s battle. I love Mexico, and it would be almost the opposite of Bolivia — very easy to do business there. It’s cheap to get to, and as a country it’s officially Open for Business. But it feels to me like there is so much happening cross-border with the United States that Transrio would maybe get drowned out in the confusion. Mexican business people already know how to get what they need from the United States. I’m thinking Transrio wouldn’t have as many opportunities to be uniquely useful.
Argentina, on the other hand, is a whole different case. It has the third-biggest economy in Latin America (after Mexico & Brazil) so there’s plenty going on. Like Mexico it’s stable (in an Argentine sort of way). But there the similarities end. Argentina historically goes out of its way to avoid the United States. And considering its high level of economic development, and the high education level of its people, it stands out in the world as a country that’s actually, proudly, NOT Open for Business.*
That may not sound super attractive — instinctively against most things US; instinctively against most things business. But I believe Argentina is the land of opportunity for Transrio, precisely because of these two things. The government, the prevailing culture, the institutions, are antibusiness. But Argentine business people themselves (obviously!) are not. Business people all over the world are — well — pro-business.
Intellectually and emotionally, I’m very excited to have a job where I get to work with businesspeople who can make success happen, on the ground, in Argentina. It’s not as easy as in the United States or Europe; it’s harder, even, than Peru, or China. Different skills apply in this environment, and different tricks are needed. And as for my role, making myself useful, I think my instincts will prove correct that there are special opportunities there for Transrio, as a small outfit peddling useful business connections with the US. The field is not crowded at all, and I can feel an opportunity.
* PS — Here are a couple links to the most recent Doing Business and HDI Development rankings for Argentina, showing its interesting position as more-than-average-hostile to business. If I sound crabby about it… I’m really not. Argentina is Argentina. I love really everything about it, it all fits together. Like with anything, a weakness is usually the flipside of a strength. There’s a lovable looseness to the whole scene, it maybe goes along with the Argentine Hippie thing, maybe it has something to do with maté, or living along the sunny side of the Andes. I don’t know. But it certainly is what it is, and it’s great.