17 October 2011

COLOMBIA : Call Centers Replacing Coffee In Manizales.

                                     AFP/ J. BAUTISTA

      Thanks to Colombia's accent neutral Spanish, excellent grammar...and sometimes volatile coffee prices...multinationals are increasingly setting-up call centers in Manizales...with its 11 universities and pop. of 380,000...and drastically lowering local unemployment.
      "We tried to increase (coffee) production, the number of hectares used. We also tried to specialize in a quality niche coffee, but nothing seemed to work. Meanwhile, Brasil solidified its position as the world's top coffee producer," said Mayor Juan Llano.