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World Report - Latin America

The Jamaican government has announced plans to radically reform the country's drug laws.

The Justice Minister Mark Golding said the cabinet was supporting a proposal to allow possession of up to two ounces (57 grams) of marijuana, known locally as "ganja." Mr Golding also said marijuana would be decriminalised for religious, medicinal and scientific purposes.

It is expected parliament will approve the changes by September.

"I wish to stress that the proposed changes to the law are not intended to promote or give a stamp of approval to the use of ganja for recreational purposes," said Mr Golding.

"The objective is to provide a more enlightened approach to dealing with possession of small quantities."

Correspondents say the

government plans are a major victory for Jamaica's Rastafarian movement, which considers ganja sacred.

Recent changes in drug laws in countries like Uruguay or in American states such as Colorado have also given impetus to campaigns by local farmers and some politicians for the legalisation of marijuana.

"It is not only wrong but also foolhardy to continue with a law that makes it illegal to posses ganja

and its derivatives for medicinal purposes," Mr Golding said.

Angela Brown Burke, Kingston's mayor, said recently: "The time has come to provide an opportunity for Jamaicans to benefit from the marijuana industry."

Correspondents say many Jamaicans

believe the

decriminalisation of the drug for medicinal and scientific purposes could bring important economic benefits to the island.

Jamaica's economy has suffered from slow growth, high unemployment and high debt for the last two decades, according to the World Bank.

Hogan Lovells Combines with Premier Mexican Law Firm Barrera, Siqueiros y Torres Landa

Leading global legal practice Hogan Lovells has announced that it has agreed to combine with prominent Mexican firm Barrera, Siqueiros y Torres Landa (“BSTL”), giving Hogan Lovells expanded capabilities in Mexico City and Monterrey. Hogan Lovells’ 46th and 47th offices will add further muscle to the firm’s market-leading Latin America practice, adding new opportunities for its global clientele of multi-national companies and financial institutions doing business in Latin America’s second largest economy.

The combination is expected to become effective on 1 August 2014, at which time Hogan Lovells will begin operating in Mexico as Hogan Lovells BSTL, as part of its Americas region. Hogan Lovells is the first global legal practice to merge with a large full service firm in Mexico, and is now one of only

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two global firms to have offices in Mexico City, Rio de Janiero, Sao Paulo, Houston, Miami, and Caracas.

“2013 ushered in sweeping structural reforms for Mexico, which could unlock major potential for investors and companies in a broad range of industries that are looking to capitalize on the current environment,” said Hogan Lovells CEO Steve Immelt. “Hogan Lovells understands the potential Mexico offers for our global clients and knows it is important to have full service capabilities on the ground in this region. BSTL is a firm with 65 years of history sharing our values, quality and international outlook, making them the perfect addition to our leading Latin America practice.”

Recognized by Chambers Global in all of its practices and by Latin

Lawyer as one of the top firms in Mexico, BSTL has grown dramatically since opening its doors in 1948 during one of the most significant periods of Mexican modernization. As Hogan Lovells BSTL, the Mexico City and Monterrey offices will comprise about 70 lawyers, including 16 partners, and will focus primarily on corporate, commercial,

litigation and

arbitration, energy, real estate, telecoms and media, and transportation work.

Their principal practice

areas include corporate and commercial, litigation, competition, real estate, automotive, energy, financial institutions, life sciences and transportation. Their client base ranges major international companies and their subsidiaries to state-owned enterprises and domestic organizations companies.

JULY 2014

Foreigners can’t get enough

bonds in oil- law boom: Mexico Credit

International investors are boosting their holdings of Mexico’s peso- denominated government debt to a record as lawmakers near a vote on rules to end the nation’s seven-decade-old oil monopoly.

Foreigners now hold 2 trillion pesos ($154 billion) of the securities, or 37.5 percent of the total, the most recent data released by the central bank showed. Yields on Mexico’s fixed-rate bonds have fallen 0.7 percentage point this year, more than twice the average for emerging markets, according to Bank of America Corp.

Draft rules for how companies from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Royal Dutch Shell Plc can pump crude from the nation’s oil fields for the first time since 1938 were approved by Senate committees this week. Bank of America estimates ending the oil monopoly may attract $20 billion in annual foreign-direct investment.

“Foreign investors see the long- term story,” Alejandro Urbina, a money manager at Silva Capital Management LLC, which oversees $800 million including Mexico’s fixed-rate debt, said in a telephone interview from Chicago. “The process is moving forward. It didn’t stop. As long as it doesn’t get stuck anywhere, it’s positive.”