Latin America rolls out red carpet for once-scorned IMF

"All of these countries really thrived on the commodity boom, so it's going to take time to work out," said Rhodes, who lived in Venezuela for more than a decade and now heads a consulting firm bearing his name. "If they don't manage it well, it could get very tough because we're entering a period of slow global growth." Signs of an impending crisis may already be emerging. In Brazil, the region's largest economy, the currency recently plunged to a record low and unemployment jumped to a five-year peak, adding to political tensions behind mass street protests calling for President Dilma Rousseff's resignation. Venezuela's economy is forecast to shrink by a whopping 10 percent this year even as it copes with widespread shortages and the world's highest inflation, around 200 percent. More…