Chile boasts the best-performing Latin stock market this year. It also has the potentional to be a safe haven and may benefit from easing inflation, report James Attwood and Nathan Gill for Bloomberg. iShares MSCI Chile Index (ECH) is in a good position to dodge global financial turmoil. ECH is down 15.7%  year-to-date.

Chile has made great strides in the last 20 to 30 years to insulate itself from international capital flows, says an analyst. The country has also reduced its dependence on copper as a source of its economic strength.

Brazil’s ETF has had a rougher ride, as the country’s stocks trade lower on falling commodity prices and slower global growth. Earnings reports are expected to be lower than anticipated, report Alexander Ragir and William Freebairn for Bloomberg. Experts do not see Brazil as a safe hideout during the recent global turmoil, and iShares MSCI Brazil (EWZ) may reflect this already. EWZ is down 26.8% year-to-date.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, South Africa is facing radical political turmoil that worsened recently after President Thabo Mbeki resigned. Opposing parties called the exodus of 11 cabinet members a disaster for the stability if the country, which trickles into the economy, reports Jonathan Clayton for Times Online.

This is not good for for the depth of division in the country and could lead to the revival of ineffective opposition, not what iShares MSCI South Africa (EZA) needs. Also at stake is the newer NETS FTSE/JSE Top 40 Index (JNB). EZA is down 19.2% year-to-date, while JNB is down 32.3% since its May 22 inception.

President Thabo Mbeki has left the government, but the financial markets in the country so far seem to be taking this shift in stride, reports Robb M. Stewart for the Wall Street Journal. The African National Congress has told parliament it will elect a replacement on Tursday.

Jacob Zuma, the ANC party boss, and Mbeki were in a bitter party leadership contest last year. Now that Mbeki is out, Zuma will be scrutinized for clues about how he will steer the economy if he wins elections, which he is expected to do.

South Africa is the largest economy on the continent, but growth has stalled recently. The state power company struggles to keep up with demand, which has hurt some of the largest industries in the country (such as mining). There has also been a commodities boom, amid which the disparity between the haves and have nots has widened, giving rise to bitterness.

Some are worried about whether Zuma plans to tinker with Mbeki’s generally pro-business economic policies. What happens, though, remains to be seen.

Affected ETFs include:

• iShares MSCI South Africa (EZA), down 19.6% year-to-date
• NETS FTSE/JSE Top 40 (JNB), down 32.3% since May 22 inception

In the second quarter, the country’s unemployment rate fell to 23.1% and economic growth rebounded from a six-year low, reports Nasreen Seria for Bloomberg. Economic expansion hit an annualized 4.9%, up from 2.1% in the previous three months.

Employment within the mining sector rose the highest, by 3.9%, while transportation industry employment rose 3.6%. Unfortunately, Africa’s largest economy hasn’t increased jobs at a fast enough pace to slash unemployment, which has led to a rise in both poverty and crime. Skilled workers are in short supply, as well, making the government’s goal of slashing unemployment to 14% by 2014 a tough one to attain.

Inflation remains high: it hit 13% in July, up from 11.6% in June.

The rand is also up against the U.S. dollar for the second consecutive day. A weaker dollar helped lift demand for precious metals. South Africa produces 80% of the world’s platinum and 10% of the world’s gold, which tends to cause the rand to move in tandem with metals, report Mike Cohen and Garth Theunissen for Bloomberg.

• NETS FTSE/JSE Top 40 Index (JNB), down 18.1% since May 22 inception
• iShares MSCI South Africa (EZA), down 16.4% year-to-date
• WisdomTree Dreyfus South African Rand (SZR), down 1.1% since July 8 inception

The South African rand strengthened against the euro for the second week in a row, showing the country’s strength and endurance in the global market. At the moment, the rand is outperforming high-yielding currencies, and it strengthened against the euro as interest rates neared their highest for the past five years, explains Garth Theunissen for Bloomberg.

The rand also offered the fourth-best carry-trade return against the euro among the 16 most popularly traded counterparts, as watched by Bloomberg. The rand gained 1.3% to 11.8922 per euro in Johannesburg.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index fell for the first time in three days, for a 2.2% decline last week, reports Garth Theunissen and Vernon Wessels for Bloomberg. The country’s inflation rate is likely to have risen for the 10th straight month, and it might be at its highest point since the targeted measure was introduced in 1998, reports Mike Cohen for Bloomberg.

The central bank has raised rates six times in one year, but has signaled that it’s done.

Several of the country’s biggest mining companies are in line to deliver earnings this week, including Anglo Platinum today, AngloGold Ashanti on July 31 and Anglo American Plc on July 31.

ETFs that could be impacted by South Africa’s activity and the forthcoming earnings reports include:

• WisdomTree Dreyfus South African Rand (SZR): Launched July 8
• NETS FTSE/JSE Top 40 Index Fund (JNB): launched May 22; Anglo Platinum is 6.6%; Anglo American is 14.7%
• iShares MSCI South Africa (EZA): down 13.8% year-to-date; Anglo Platinum is 5.4%; AngloGold is 4.3%