The Top 500 companies in Latin America.(Cover Story)

It takes a lot to run a big company: Lots of cash, lots of brains, lots of energy, and more than a little luck Here we present the biggest Latin America has to offer. Our new, improved ranking moves the bar up to 500 (!) companies and includes both privately held and publicly traded companies, as well as the largest state-run companies.

But we didn't stop at merely big. In our Forecast 100--a LATIN TRADE exclusive--you'll find which among the publicly traded companies is the best run, too. Driven in part by China's spectacular demand for raw materials, Latin America's b