Latin America's Most Competitive Cities

Human Capital played a role in determining the rise and fall of certain cities.

Santiago, Chile fell from No.2 to No.3 on the list because of a decline in the cities image and relatively low human capital.

"According to a report by SCImago, a firm that specializes in ranking research institutions, only 2,373 scientific studies per 1 million residents are carried out in the Chilean capital, fewer even than in the nearby Valparaíso-Viña del Mar metropolitan area (2.681). By comparison, the scientific research figure per 1 million residents in Campinas, Brazil is 6,222. For Miami and São Paulo the numbers are 5,198 and 3,445 respectively."

São Paulo rose to second on the 45-city list because infrastructure and connectivity upgrades and increased the amount its airports international destinations.