Brazil is all the talk when it comes to Latin America. Columbia and Peru, however, are on track to become major players in the emerging market growth pattern, and their growth can be accessed directly via exchange traded funds (ETFs).

In general, Latin America has shown remarkable immunity to the latest global credit crunch and market turmoil. Jason Mitchell for Midas Letter reports that the strict macroeconomic policies pursued in Colombia and Peru over the past five years has started to take root, and both could become dominant economies on the world stage.

Nathan Gill for Bloomberg reports that Peru has reached a “point of inflexion” after shrinking more than it has in eight years. Now, resurgent demand could push the growth rate to 3.2% in the second half of 2009. To ensure this growth, the government has implemented a $3 billion stimulus package and cut the key lending rate to 1.25%.

Robert Kozak for The Wall Street Journal reports that Peru’s GDP shrank 1.1% in the second quarter.

Colombia is also one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies between 2003 and 2008, expanding at an average of 5.4% annually. Much of the growth was spurred by rising demand for commodities, including oil, coal and gold. While some Latin American countries grew faster in this time frame, Colombia managed to stave off inflation.

• iShares MSCI All Peru Capped Index (NYSEArca:EPU) up 32.2% since inception

• Global X/Inter Bolsa FTSE Columbia 20 ETF (NYSEArca: GXG) up 37.2% since inception

• iShares S&P Latin America 40 (NYSEArca: ILF) up 68.2% year-to-date

For more stories about Latin America, visit our Latin America category.

Tags: Emerging Markets, EPU, Frontier Markets, Global ETFs, GXG, Latin America