Entrepreneurs in Latin America

The AP has an article out today on how foreign entrepreneurs are starting a rash of new businesses in Argentina. Here's one example from the story:

"[Americans] Michael Evans and David Garrett found their entrepreneurial inspiration in 2004 when they visited the Andean winemaking province of Mendoza. They never left.

"Neither spoke Spanish or had job contacts here, but that changed after they met Pablo Gimenez, an English-speaking Argentine lawyer whose family was in the wine business.

"A year and a half later they run The Vines of Mendoza, where wine lovers can come to taste aromatic varietals and even arrange to buy and produce wine on their own privately owned estates.

"Evans said their business is taking off, in part thanks to the devalued peso, which the administration of President Nestor Kirchner has kept steady and cheap at 3-to-1 to the dollar."

The article goes on to say that entrepreneurs are drawn to Argentina over other Latin American nations because public corruption and bribes paying is much less common there. On the flip side, entrepreneurs cite unfavorable tax laws, rules for renting real estate, labor regulations, and double-digit inflation as obstacles to growing a successful business. (Here's the link to the article.)

Do you do business in Argentina? If so, how have you found the climate there to be? And what country do you think is the most entrepreneur-friendly place to start and grow a business right now?

Mike Hofman was previously editor of Inc.com and a deputy editor at Inc. magazine, which he joined in 1996. The site was nominated for a National Magazine Award for Digital Media in 2010, and was named the best business website by Folio Magazine. In 2006, Hofman was part of a team of writers nominated for a Webby Award for best business blog. He lives in New York City. @mikehofman