Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller covers a variety of topics that are essential for expats living or planning to move to Latin America. He begins by discussing the differences in airport security procedures between Latin American countries and the United States, noting that Latin American airports are generally less intrusive. He advises expats to bring prescription medicines in their original bottles with a copy of the prescription and to break down vitamins and supplements into small, labeled containers for easier inspection. He also recommends using newer Ziploc bags with zippers for better organization and security.
Johnny then discusses the advantages of newer Ziploc bags over older ones, emphasizing their improved sealing mechanisms and convenience. He highlights the importance of using these bags for carrying delicate items like creams, lotions, and makeup, especially for expats traveling with such items. He also addresses the issue of liquid and cream leakage, which can stain clothes and luggage, and suggests minimizing carry-on drugs and supplements due to the high cost of these items in Latin America. Johnny recommends using mail forwarding services with addresses in Miami to order vitamins and supplements from first-world companies at a lower cost, providing an example of how this service works for a photographer friend who recently purchased a camera lens.
In another segment, Johnny discusses the peculiar method some expats use to order and receive health supplements in Latin America. They order the supplements in the U.S., have them shipped to a friend or relative in the U.S., who then removes all the promotional materials and styrofoam peanuts, condenses the package, and ships it to a mail forwarding service in Miami. The package is then sent to the expat's country, and the recipient is notified by email. The cost includes a shipping fee of $5 per pound plus a $3 airport-to-door shipping charge. Johnny also mentions that there are ways to do this anonymously and hints at upcoming seminars and webinars for expats interested in residency processes. He encourages listeners to sign up for the seminar in July 2015 and provides details on how to get a written report on the residency process.
Johnny then shifts to discussing his expat friends' experiences with chemtrails in Mexico and Costa Rica, expressing skepticism but requesting photos. He then shares an anecdote about receiving an email from a listener who describes a drone encounter after sending a message about chemtrails. The listener claims to have seen chemtrails in cities without airports, suggesting they may be from aircraft flying over populated areas. Johnny also references reports from NASA, Bill Gates, and the Chinese government about weather manipulation projects, indicating that the topic is not new or isolated. He concludes by mentioning the prevalence of investment offers and business prospectuses sent to expats in Latin America, often promoted on expat websites, and notes that he occasionally receives questions about their legitimacy.
In the final segment, Johnny discusses the common pitfalls of investing in Latin America, particularly for expats and gringos. He emphasizes that people seek reassurance and opinions from someone with local experience. He shares his personal experience and observations about the lack of success in these investments, noting that most do not deliver the promised returns. He also highlights the tendency of marketers to target gringos due to their gullibility and the ease of selling them on these opportunities. He warns against long-term investments that are too far away to inspect and stresses the importance of understanding the time required for agricultural and real estate projects to yield returns.
In another segment, Johnny discusses the challenges and risks associated with investing in Latin American real estate and agricultural projects. He highlights that while these projects may seem promising, they often come with hidden costs, unmet expectations, and unreliable execution. He notes that Latin businessmen, even those with degrees, tend to overpromise and underdeliver, often failing to disclose critical information. Additionally, he warns about the risks of gringos (Americans) being involved in such projects, as they may become 'contaminated' by the local culture and end up making poor investment decisions. Johnny also emphasizes the importance of due diligence and personal experience in evaluating investment opportunities, suggesting that it's better to invest in ideas one has personally discovered rather than relying on others' pitches.
Finally, Johnny warns about the potential risks of investing in Latin America, particularly in agricultural and natural resource sectors. He questions whether there will still be an export market for products like mangoes, avocados, and teak in the coming years, given the looming financial and economic instability worldwide. He also highlights the uncertainty of long-term returns on investments such as coffee, cacao, or rubber tree plantations, which may take five years to yield profits. Johnny emphasizes the importance of due diligence, suggesting that potential investors should visit the region in person to assess opportunities rather than relying solely on online promotions.
Topics
Airport security in Latin America, Bringing prescription medicines to Latin America, Bringing vitamins and supplements to Latin America, Organizing and labeling items for customs, Ziploc bags, Travel tips, Vitamins and supplements, Mail forwarding services, Expatriate life, Expats and health supplements, Shipping methods for expats, Residency process for expats
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:32 Bringing Vitamins and Supplements to Latin America 00:02:33 Prescription Medicine and Customs 00:04:26 Organizing Vitamins and Supplements 00:05:34 Advantages of Newer Ziploc Bags 00:05:44 Evolution of Ziploc Bags 00:06:07 Use of Ziploc Bags for Delicate Items 00:06:34 Minimizing Carry-On Drugs and Supplements 00:07:48 Using Mail Forwarding Services for Vitamins and Supplements 00:10:10 Cost Efficiency of Mail Forwarding Services 00:10:21 Expats and Health Supplements Shipping Method 00:11:21 Upcoming Expat Wisdom Seminar 00:12:17 Residency Process for Expats 00:14:16 Expat Friends and Chemtrails in Mexico and Costa Rica 00:14:34 Listener's Experience with Drone and Internet Outage 00:15:37 Chemtrails in Cities Without Airports 00:16:11 Government and Corporate Involvement in Weather Manipulation 00:17:16 Investment Offers and Expat Websites 00:18:18 The Nature of Long-Term Investments in Latin America 00:18:56 Why These Investments Are Marketed to Gringos 00:19:55 The Reality of Agricultural Investments 00:21:47 The Problem with Latin Businessmen's Follow-Through 00:22:26 Gringos Contaminated by Latin Business Practices 00:24:06 The Reality Behind Promising Investments 00:26:30 The Uncertain Future of Exports 00:26:55 Will the World Be the Same in Five Years? 00:27:31 The Importance of Due Diligence
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now I wonder Hello there all you expat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started Okay lately been getting some emails from people asking me about bringing vitamins supplements and prescription medicines down to Latin America And just what kind of hoops and BS you have to go through considering airport shakedowns are getting tougher and tougher
[00:46] And let me ask you this in your travels. How many times has the TSA or immigration? Confiscated some of your items food bottles packages, whatever and how'd you feel about that? Didn't you just for a second anyway? Why not punch that fat ass parasitic power hungry government bureaucrat in the face? And of course, I mean that in the kindest way Well, I can tell you this as you enter a Latin American airport Whatever you're expecting or have been led to believe it's a lot like going through an airport back in the states in the 70s and 80s In fact, a lot of times they actually let me walk through the metal scanners and all that with an open water bottle in my pocket stuffed with nuts and fruits Sure, you're supposed to empty all your pockets and take your shoes and your belt off and all that
[01:36] But I've also seen at Latin airports the TSA types let older folks and such occasionally skip the shoes off and the stripped-down rags and walk right through I mean, come on. How many airlines have been hijacked by shoe bombers or otherwise or even attempted shoe bombing hijackers apprehended in all Latin American airports since 9-11 or Ever for that matter. How about a grand total of zero? Nada, if you notice at Latin airports, the workers don't seem to enjoy pawing or feeling you up at all They're only obeying international flight regulations and it seems their heart is not really into it And I've seen them even be actually apologetic about it
[02:21] Is that the usual TSA attitude up north? I don't think so So they carry out the very minimum requirements but reluctantly compared to the way they screw with you at first world airports That said, I've been asked a number of times What about bringing prescription medicine and vitamins and supplements down on the airplane? Now as far as prescription medicine, it's always a great idea And in fact, it's mandatory to bring your stuff down in the original prescription bottles And it's always good to carry your doctor's prescription with you too Although I've never heard of a case at all down here in Latin America Where immigration or customs at the airport ever even bothered to pick through much less open A person's prescription medicine bottle That seems to be an exclusive perverted right of first world TSA
[03:08] So again with prescription medicine is just bring them with the original bottles And the doctor's prescription or a copy of the prescription if you have one Now I know a lot of people get their prescriptions called in by their doctor to a pharmacy up in the state So there won't be a written prescription But don't worry when it's in the original bottle is fine because all your debts are printed on the label And like I said that stuff's only useful when you're going through US borders Because that's where they're gonna check you forget about the Latin borders I mean I've taken a thousand flights and they're just not interested Unless of course you're carrying a commercial quantity Let's say 500 pills enough for a small army Then you're gonna have to be ready with some answers Even so the worst that could happen is that they'll just confiscate them Or make you pay some kind of duty
[03:56] Now as far as vitamins and supplements Stuff that's obtained without a prescription Of course you're not going to bring the gigantic original bottles of fish oil For example you know 500 smelly soft gel caps What you're going to want to do is break it down to just the amount You're going to need for the length of your trip For example if you're going a month you might need 30 of one kind of vitamin Whatever and 30 of whatever else you're taking But don't mix them all up in one container And what I recommend and what always seems to work Is that you separate out all your vitamins and supplements Into separate little see-through plastic bags Small Ziploc bags Then for example in the case of Coenzyme Q10 You might try to peel the label off the original bottle And then stick it on the plastic Ziploc bag
[04:44] And if you can't peel the label Write the name of the pill and the dosage on a small piece of paper And stick it in the plastic bag So that you can read it through the bag of course And some smart gringos Take a snapshot with their phone of the vitamin labels Print them out and stick them in the bag with the vitamins It's a little extra work but then you're really covered Now for example if you're taking let's say 10 supplements You got 10 little Ziploc bags I'm talking small ones And you shove them all in a big Ziploc bag So you're keeping them all together in one main big Ziploc bag Now note that I quit using regular Ziploc bags You know the traditional ones In favor of the newer ones with a little nub Like a zipper that you can open and close rapidly
[05:30] 10 or 20 or even 50 times in a period of about a minute With the newer ones the seal is always very good You don't have to fumble around like the old Ziploc bags Squeezing and checking to see if the seal is good I remember when the first Ziplocs came out They had one seal and then two seals and then three seals But still they weren't perfect The perfect case of more is not always better That's especially true with booze, ballast, bacon and bureaucracies So by all means do use the newer slightly more expensive Ziplocs With a little zipper on them Not only that those things are absolutely indispensable When you're carrying creams and lotions and ladies Your makeup and other delicate and potentially very messy items
[06:17] And guys you have stuff like that too The fact is you can use the same bags over and over many times on many trips Now I don't know how much you travel But I've had plenty of instances of bottle and liquid and cream leakage They stain and sometimes ruin your clothes Your luggage and your day I know And by the way try to really minimize your carry-on drugs And vitamins and supplements and liquids etc Because you find when you stow it Instead of carry-on it'll almost never be disturbed Oh and again concerning vitamins and supplements Just note that down here in Latin America You can get all that stuff but it's quite expensive They've got that crappy GNC outlet down here And virtually no cut rate vitamin or supplement dispensaries at all So they've got GNCs all over the place But gringos know those places are ripping you off
[07:05] However note there are thousands of mom and pop urban spice shops So getting that stuff is not a problem In many cases it's much cheaper than the same stuff up in the first world So then who buys that GNC? Clueless latin gringo wannabes with a lot of money And the occasional visiting gringo who needs an emergency supply of something Sometimes you think that's your only alternative But it's not Sure down here they've got other mom and pop health food stores and stuff But same crap GNC prices So then you might ask how can you get exactly what you want In the vitamin and supplement department Without paying three or four times as much At a rip-off palace like GNC Well that's easy You use one of these mail forwarding services that I mentioned before in past shows
[07:52] You know the ones I told you that have outlets in Miami In fact the one I use I can order vitamins and supplements etc. from anywhere Including Amazon of course and any other first world company Then when you pay with that stuff with your credit card Or hint hint your SA Corporation credit card You use that Miami mail forwarding service as your address Then they'll gather your stuff up from wherever it came Amazon or your brother-in-law who knows Ship it down to your Latin American country And you can either pick it up at their outlet Which is always near one of the international airports in your country Or they'll ship it to your door for something like two or three bucks Imagine that And get this the service that I'm using now
[08:38] Charges me a whole five dollars a pound complete That includes taxes and duties no matter what the package is really worth There are no other extra charges at all So for example if you wanted to buy a bottle of 180 magnesium caps from Amazon From your particular favorite vitamin supplier Let's say Amazon charges 20 bucks for that When you order it you put down your Miami shipping address Not your billing address All companies let you do that Now since the bottle only weighs nine ounces under a pound Once you get it you only pay five bucks to the shipping company So in that case you're only paying 20% more Than if you had it shipped to Cleveland
[09:23] Or anywhere else in the US Now one of my long-term gringo expat friends here is a photographer Doesn't make any money at it But he has a lot of nice shows and stuff at local big city galleries etc But don't we all throw money into our hobbies that we'll never get back Oh well that's why they call them hobbies And for example he recently bought a lens for one of his cameras I think it was like 480 bucks What did it weigh? About 12 ounces So he paid the camera outfit in the States for 180 bucks by credit card And in a couple of days time they forwarded it from the Miami box To their box in Panama where he lives And it cost him a whole five bucks Plus three dollars shipping to his home To have that thing delivered So in that case on a $480 item
[10:10] He paid about 1.8% of that cost to have it delivered From the original supplier in the States To his doorstep in Panama You get the idea Now note What some health conscious gringos I know down here do Is that they have once a year All their oddball vitamins and supplements Ship to a friend or relative up in the States And they in turn open the boxes Throw out all the pamphlets and promotions And styrofoam peanuts Condense all that stuff down to one little box Then that friend or relative ships it down to the Miami Mail forwarding service Then it arrives in their Latin American country They get notified by email That's how the company notifies you that it's arrived And maybe now the package weighs Three or four or five or even ten pounds
[10:57] Who knows? Depending on what kind of junk you've ordered Then again you pay five bucks a pound Plus get this A three dollar airport to your door shipping charge And that's it You have it in about a week or two Nope not complicated or expensive at all In fact there are some cool ways to do this anonymously by the way I'll tell you all about that When you come down to my Expat Wisdom seminar Certain little tricks have to remain secret you know And speaking of my next Expat Wisdom seminar Which is July 2015 Don't forget to sign up soon Now since today's particular Expat file Shows scheduled to go out on April 8th That means the seminar will get rolling In about exactly two months Which gives all you guys and gals out there Who are thinking about getting your residency started
[11:43] When you come down to the seminar You know kill two birds with one stone Be advised again It takes about two weeks to a month To get your paperwork in order up in the states To bring down to Latin America In this case Guatemala Because that's where we're doing the seminar So you still have plenty of time to get your ducks in order up there So get the ball rolling on your plan B Kill two birds with one stone And come to the seminar and get your residency started too Just go to expatwisdom.com Click on the Latin seminar link for all info Now about residency If you have any questions Don't forget to listen to my last three shows Where I discuss the process completely Even better send me an email And I'll send you a written report
[12:29] That describes in complete detail a step by step process Just send that email to johnny at expatwisdom.com Or the expat files at gmail.com And note that this residence report That I put together is completely up to date As of April and May 2015 So get that plan B in action Times are wasting Remember a journey of a thousand miles Begins with one step And Buddha helps those who help themselves Or something like that And by the way people ask me all the time Why I occasionally refer to Buddha Am I a Buddhist? No But I'll tell you this If I was to follow anyone's teachings It would be Buddhas Why? Just look at that guy He's so fat and happy always smiling Now there's a guy you want to party with And everybody else's religious icons
[13:14] So sad and sourful And just not looking so happy at all That said My vote's for the jolly fat guy With the happy ass grin I mean laughter is the best medicine That said Here's an email that came right after my last webinar Which I think was what two weeks ago? And by the way If you want to get in on one of my webinars I'm doing them every two or three weeks now Which means you can just sign up It's for free Just go to expatwisdom.com And the info is all there So what happens at these webinars? Well you got me live for about an hour And you can submit your questions And I'll answer them as they come up on the screen You don't have to get on the air If you don't want to Just submit questions And I'll give them my best shot Remember it's free
[14:00] Just go to expatwisdom.com To check when my next webinar is scheduled Anyway at one of my recent webinars People were asking about chemtrails And I mentioned that I haven't actually seen any down here in Latin America yet And I look up at the sky all the time However some of my expat friends have told me They've seen them in Mexico And Costa Rica To which I said Not that I don't believe you But please send me the photos That said here's the email Hey Johnny Thanks to you and Robert For a very good webinar this morning You might remember that I sent you a message Talking about chemtrails In Costa Rica and Mexico And you asked for photos Interestingly enough As soon as I sent that message My internet service went down For about 10 to 15 minutes
[14:45] Literally the exact moment That I pressed the send button Then this afternoon When I was on the upstairs patio Getting a bit of sun I heard a buzzing noise Kind of like a swarm of house flies Or a race car track Way off in the distance I wondered if someone was using One of those gas powered edgers To cut their grass But the noise got closer and closer And when I looked up I saw a drone in the shape of an X With a large camera attached to the bottom of it It flew past Turned around And flew past again Then took off It was flying so fast I didn't even have time to remember To put my head down on the first pass So they got a good photo of me This might sound made up But it ain't I wish it was So you'll have to excuse me If I'm a little paranoid today And I don't send you those photos
[15:32] Of chemtrails in Mexico City But I will mention That two of the cities In which I saw the trails myself Were a good hour and a half or so From the nearest airport And had no airports of their own Not even small ones Nor did I ever notice aircraft Flying over those cities So unless the airlines Have a new policy Of plotting their flight paths Over heavily populated areas The trails were quite out of place And of course They had that characteristic Of staying in the air And spreading out into thin, stringy And sickly looking clouds So there's an eyewitness report for you Now for all you non-believers And chemtrails out there And I'm sure there are quite a few I just listened to a big report Coming from PRN and Gary Nall Transcripts, believe it or not, from NASA
[16:18] And a Bill Gates report Talking about what the U.S. And private contractors Have been spraying in the atmosphere Since at least 1985 To quote, modify the weather So there's no doubt this stuff is happening Here you got spokespersons from NASA And the Bill Gates Foundation Admitting it Okay and I mentioned that Just so you don't send me A bunch of emails saying I'm full of hot air crap or worse And by the way, to add to that The Chinese government has also admitted That they too have a huge ongoing Weather manipulation project Again, involving disseminating chemicals And elements in the atmosphere Okay enough said about chemtrails Don't want to go there anymore Till I get those pictures Now amongst all the emails I get
[17:03] Often people will send me Copies, investment offers they've received And business prospectus Concerning real estate, agricultural And mining offers down here in Latin America That are being touted to gringos I know if you go to any of these big expat websites Like International Living And multiple other sites They are constantly selling things That's how they make money Many times you'll see them touting Certain investments that they've More or less put their seal of approval on Or else they wouldn't show up on their websites So occasionally some of my listeners Ask me about those things You know, are they for real? What are the risks? People just want to be reassured They want an opinion from someone Who's been living down here in Latin America A long time Do these things really work? Do they put out the kind of returns
[17:50] That the prospectus says they should over the years And are those business offers A good way to get started On internationalizing yourself in Latin America Well not being an investment counselor I can't offer you professional advice But I can tell you this I've had a lot of personal experience In dealing with offers like this And I know a lot of gringos and expats Who've made the plunge And almost none of them Are ever happy about it In the long term So after being exposed to so many Supposed great deals like this Let me give you my general opinion About this stuff Then you decide Now personally I don't like these Very far away long term investments I would not invest in any project
[18:36] That's so far away from where I live That I could not completely inspect And walk the grounds periodically Now remember I'm talking about the usual kind of deals That come our way Like real estate, farming, mining, land deals Developments and such Fact is I've been down here 25 plus years now And I've seen these kind of offers come and go So then why keep marketing this stuff to gringos? Because they're a bit gullible And they've got the money obviously Well for example in Costa Rica Every few years There's suddenly a slew of investments Quote for gringos Or at least for typical English speakers Because you see promotions And ads popping up in the local English speaking Tourist newspapers Never a good sign
[19:22] And I always wonder why you almost never see The same ads and promotions In the Spanish speaking news Why wouldn't you want to market these things to rich Latins? Isn't their funny money just as green as yours is? Turns out it's much easier To sell a gringo with rose colored glasses Than it is a Latin Whose family's been down here a long long time That said for example In Costa Rica and Panama Where tourism is more developed Every few years There's suddenly a slew of investments For gringos Mostly for agricultural things Like macadamia, nut farms, or teak plantations That seem very well researched and subscribed And then a year or so later They kind of disappear or fade away Now remember
[20:08] Most of these investments Don't even start producing any dough at all For five or ten years Teak trees for example Take 20 years before you can make a harvest Now for fruits like avocados and mangoes You still need at least five years Before your trees start producing So anyone who promises a return In the first two or three years They're lying to you I know I've got avocado and mango trees And I'm telling you It takes five to seven years To even get your first crop And it's going to be very small For the next coming three or four years Because the trees are still bush sized Now over the years I've known a lot of very intelligent gringos and expats Who have invested in these things And have great piles of paperwork to prove it
[20:54] Because latins are excellent at generating Gigantic piles of paperwork in triplicate Oh and with dozens of artistically designed Stamps and seals to boot Yep A beautiful sight to see If you're into nice looking paperwork And remember it's all in Spanish too Now note that unlike in the first world A great percentage of the time Project like these eventually are abandoned Or the projections are drastically downsized Over the years or worse In fact I can't think of a single project now And I've seen dozens of these That don't ask for more maintenance More capital fees or supposed one-time cash injections For unrealized or quote unexpected Miscellaneous unanticipated expenses
[21:41] And it seems like latins do have great ideas And big expansive ideas But they often drop the ball After they get the project subscribed And that first big chunk of money comes in As I've mentioned so many times in previous shows Latins even professionals worth a lot of so-called degrees Are very big on promises But almost always lacks on the follow-up Note even when gringos are supposedly involved in the management Always a good sign right? You would think There's just no guarantee that the project you see on paper Is going to be run like a first world operation In fact it's sad to say But I know a lot of gringos who've been down here a long long time And they've been kind of contaminated Associating with latins who do drop the ball all the time
[22:30] So you could say in cases where gringos have gotten involved in the management They've gone native too Not good I've known gringos personally who operate on the bigger fool theory And that they got into what they thought was a good investment at first That went sour Then they try to modernize it or shine it up a bit Or change the marketing plan to recoup their dough Try to convince some fresh new gringos With the tropical winds and sands in their eyes Because you see a gringo marketing the idea in English Is a thousand times more likely to sell an idea to another gringo And if you think I'm exaggerating or blowing hot air up your butt I can think of two long-term gringos off the top of my head right now
[23:16] That bought in early on to some of these very stupid investments And they've actually pitched me the idea to try to sell some of that garbage to you My listeners out there and of course I'd receive a hefty percentage of the profits So there are unscrupulous gringos down here Especially ones that have been scammed a few times themselves And because of that I've ditched a few gringos as friends and acquaintances So take it from me if long-term gringos, professional gringos are trying to get me To help them unload their bad deals and properties And these are people I know who out of one side of them out Say what a raw deal they got and then are hatching plans to unload it on some greater fool Now imagine what it's like out there in the world of slick internet marketers
[24:03] Trying to get you to buy crap like that and you'd never know it I'm not saying these deals are total scams There's land, there's a project all right But like I said even the smartest most educated gringos who come down here Are fooled by slick promoters Especially when there's a gringo or two involved And the website is cool and the photos spectacular Now most of these projects start out with great intentions And note when these investments involve tropical fruits and vegetables People forget these crops are very fragile and 100 things can affect them For example you see these big juicy tommy mangoes down here During a certain three month season And at the very beginning of the season A single mango could cost you a dollar at a local market
[24:50] Then a month later you can get them for 10 cents a piece So like I said prices are all over the place So bottom line I've always found it best to invest in an idea That you have thought of yourself or discovered along the way After a decent length of boots on the ground action And note that almost all of the latin businessmen Who approached me with so-called great investment ideas Somehow I found out later they failed to disclose certain things If anything they're just way too optimistic about everything Including life itself In fact latins are the most optimistic people I know And if you're not careful you'll get sucked into the moment yourself And remember they don't call this the third world for nothing Once you get over the tropical weather in the blue sky effect
[25:36] You'll see even so-called professional latins don't do their homework like we do And latin business guys with MBAs they're the worst Down here most of these guys are still living at home with their parents Just like in the states right? Now I know there are so many thousands and thousands of smart first world types Looking for places to put their money in the third world Many who later found themselves sucked into a black hole Oh I know a lot of gringos who found themselves in that scenario I was nearly sucked in a few times myself That said with the extremely precarious state of the world economy now We must all look at the realistic projected state Of how things will be some years down the line So then let me ask you this
[26:23] Suppose you do buy into that avocado, macadamia, mango farm, whatever Even if it's paying out right now In two, three or four years With new and deeper financial and economic problems worldwide in the wind Will there even be an export market for your product? For your mangoes? For your avocados? Your teak? Suppose you did get in on a shore fire, ground floor, gringo opportunity Maybe a coffee, cacao, or rubber tree plantation That promised returns starting in five years Do you really think the world's going to be the same in five years? And when the euro fails and the petrodollar snaps And there's more sovereign state bankruptcies Like in Argentina and certainly Venezuela Not to mention the US of course
[27:09] What countries then are going to be buying your product? So again I'm not saying there aren't tremendous investments down here But please don't invest based on an internet promo You must come on down and get your boats on the ground And see this stuff for yourself I mean come on would you order a car online Without seeing one in person kicking the tires and driving it first? Same thing You've been listening to The Expat Files Living in Latin America Coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border Email me theexpatfiles at gmail.com And don't forget to check out expatwisdom.com To sign up for your free reports on Latin America See you next time