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BBC NEWS
why is this South American country, sandwiched between Argentina, Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean, so attractive to foreign investors?

“Uruguay is a small area in the broader region where buyers find better prices and political and economic stability,” said Eduardo Caldeyro from Caldeyro-Stajano, a land sales broker.

“Curiously enough, for the first time we are receiving enquiries from Americans; within South America we get calls from Argentines, Brazilians and a few Colombians. From Europe, it is mostly Spanish real estate investors, who are facing a sharp slowdown there.”

The government, which is actively encouraging foreign investment, is nonetheless worried.

Ernesto Agazzi, the agriculture minister, wants parliament to consider a ban on land sales along the borders with Argentina and Brazil to non-resident foreigners.

“This is to preserve our sovereignty, to avoid smugglers holding land on both sides of the border (…) and to prevent foot-and-mouth disease from entering the country.

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