As the global financial crisis continues to unfold, Latin America is facing 12 to 18 months of ”grim” economic prospects, with countries highly dependent on commodity exports such as Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador and Peru likely to suffer the most, according to economists at a recent Miami conference. Brazil and Mexico, the region’s largest and second largest economies, also must deal with enormous challenges, but their diversified export mix should help ease the impact of the downturn. Full Story