1.   It is also a sign of confidence in reformed economies, say officials and many economists.

2.   The crisis threatens to engulf not only Mexico but other recently reformed Latin American economies as well.

3.   Belarus has perhaps the least reformed economy among the ex-Soviet republics, with the government of President Alexander Lukashenko continuing to exercise strong control.

4.   Belarus has perhaps the least reformed economy among the ex-Soviet states, and the government still controls much of the economy.

5.   His views are supported by many in Belarus, where the scarcely reformed economy has been in crisis since the Soviet collapse.

6.   Many Russian economists say Belarus, with its hardly reformed economy, would become a new burden for Russia.