Author

Lucia Fontaine

Lucia Fontaine covers Designers, Luxury and Trends.

Articles by Lucia Fontaine

Andes

What is the Pacific Alliance, and does it still matter?

Four countries, 230 million people and a third of Latin America's GDP in a trade bloc built on integration-by-doing. Its status, its wins and its drift, explained.

Lucia FontaineJune 9, 2026

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Salar de Uyuni: the world's biggest mirror runs on two economies

Bolivia's 10,000-square-kilometer salt flat is simultaneously a lithium vault and a tourism phenomenon. Both claim the same horizon, and only one is currently paying.

Lucia FontaineJune 2, 2026

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Why does Ecuador use the US dollar? A monetary experiment at 25

Ecuador abandoned its currency in 2000 after a banking collapse. A quarter-century on, dollarization is the country's most popular policy and its least flexible constraint.

Lucia FontaineMay 29, 2026

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Medellín's second act: from homicide capital to innovation district

In 1991 the city recorded one of the highest murder rates ever documented. Its rebuilding — transit, libraries, a tech district — became urbanism's most cited case study. What the numbers say now.

Lucia FontaineMay 26, 2026

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Four million alpacas, one soft economy: Peru's fiber ladder

Peru holds most of the world's alpacas, but most raw fiber leaves cheap and returns expensive. Inside the value chain herders, mills and luxury brands are fighting over.

Lucia FontaineMay 21, 2026

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The grape Chile mistook for Merlot — until 1994

Carménère survived phylloxera in Chilean soil unrecognized for 150 years. One ampelographer's visit turned a viticultural mistake into a national signature worth millions.

Lucia FontaineMay 19, 2026