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David battles Goliath: Latin America and the Caribbean try to stave off financial crisis.

Article Excerpt
In November 2008, when the economic tsunami that originated in the U.S. was heading at light speed toward the Caribbean and Latin America, David Jessop, director of the London-based Caribbean Council development organization, made this bold statement: "Caribbean economies are not as exposed to the full force of globalization as those in the developed world because they have so far only integrated in a limited way. Despite this, they are uniquely vulnerable ... they are individually heavily dependent on external economic actors for foreign exchange, for their food and energy, and for employment. There is now a real danger that as the developed world goes into recession, the Caribbean could be heading for a severe economic contraction with unpredictable social and political consequences." Jessop went on to say that "few governments seem to have recognized the scale of the crisis."

The elements that would shake the world economy existed long before 2008, but by that summer, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General Edwin Carrington announced that the region would not escape the impact of the crisis, and that the real issue would be how to minimize it. Some regional leaders remained hopeful that the effects on their territory would be minimal--the members of the Jamaican government were reported...

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