However, economists who study Brazil, Latin America's economic engine, are now saying that economies south of the border have turned the corner.
Recovery is literally in the air.
One of the strongest private industries in Brazil is aviation. The country's helicopter fleet is the ninth largest in the world. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's second largest city with a population of 9.8 million, has 160 helicopters. There are also 145 registered heliports in the country, and another 100 that are unregistered. The chaos of Sao Paulo's traffic pattern is a prime example.