Peru's economic growth rose 8.7% last year and should be among the Latin American leaders with 7.5% growth in 2011.

It's the world's largest producer of silver and No. 2 in copper, as a river of money from investors and corporations has flowed in to the country to participate in this resource bonanza. And there's more coming in the future. The country has lined up another $40 billion in mining and oil projects for the next decade. But some investors are starting to fear this river could dry up unexpectedly.

My take on it is that a Humala victory wouldn't necessarily spell disaster for investments in Peru. Many harbored similar concerns when Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in as president of Brazil in 2003. Even though Lula leaned strongly to the left in his younger years and previously campaigned in Che Guevera tee-shirts, Brazil's Bovespa stock market index quintupled during the first five years of his tenure and gained an average of more than 20% per year during his eight years as president.

Watch for more disruptions that might create a bigger BUYING opportunity in Peruvian equities over the coming weeks.

Happy trading!

Rudy

The market-leading stocks last week in Latin America included:

• Tele Norte Leste Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:TNE) +8.2%
• Cosan Limited (NYSE:CZZ), +8.1%
• Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A. (NYSE:BVN) +6.7%
• Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE:SQM) +5.2%
• Brasil Telecom S.A. (NYSE:BTM) +5.1%