December 16, 1999

Venture capitalists are searching Latin American for opportunities to invest in promising companies, such as they have been doing in Silicon Valley; quest is complicated by often precarious nature of Latin American economies as well as relative lack of advanced technology, along with generally frenetic nature of young Internet industry; growth of venture-capital investing is part of wider trend of private equity investors focusing on Latin America's huge market; though region has quickly embraced Internet, it still has long way to go in terms of wealth and technology to catch up with richest industrial nations; StarMedia Network is one of first start-ups with focus on Latin America to get Silicon Valley-style cash and management help from US; Chase Capital Partners and Flatiron Partners initially invested $29 million to help company go public; that investment is worth roughly $360 million; various other projects detailed; graph; photos (M)

Yung Soo Yoo, businessman and political fund-raiser, is charged with promising favorable state parole rulings to families of three convicted violent felons in exchange for more than $36,000 in donations to election campaign of New York Gov George Pataki; Yoo is also accused in indictment of violating Federal campaign finance laws in unrelated case in which he allegedly solicited money for US Senate campaign of Alfonse D'Amato and Presidential campaign of Bob Dole (M)

Mexico's national film agency recently attempted to stifle distribution of La Ley de Herodes (Herod's Law), movie by young filmmaker Luis Estrada that depicts corruption in ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party; in ensuing scandal, agency head Eduardo Amerena was dismissed for 'erratic behavior,' and Mexico's top cultural official, Rafael Tovar y de Teresa, declared an end to censorship; incident draws attention to new revival of Mexican movie-making, in which a younger generation of directors and producers are restoring vitality and momentum to industry that had seemed virtually paralyzed; first jolt of new life was felt in June with release of Antonio Serrano's Sexo, Pudor y Lagrimas (Sex, Shame and Tears), which drew 5.4 million viewers, making it most popular Mexican movie ever; photos (M)

Tentative contract between Transit Workers Union and Metropolitan Transportation Authority will effectively increase pay of New York City transit workers by more than 18 percent over three years, giving them largest annual raises received by any of city's public-employee unions in more than decade; could create problems for city in bargaining in 2000 with unions representing 300,000 municipal workers; includes increase in base wages of 5 percent in first year, 3 percent in second and 4 percent in third for total of approximately 12.5 percent; would raise average salary for transit workers over duration to nearly $44,000 from current $39,000; provides for further increase in paychecks, amounting to more than 6 percent, by allowing workers to greatly reduce pension contributions; labor experts say overall package will increase New York City Transit's labor costs by slightly more than 20 percent if MTA's increased contributions for health coverage are included with cost of wage and pension changes; Mayor Rudolph Giuliani praises union leaders for deciding not to strike, but takes pains to argue that agreement will have no influence on city's labor negotiations; photo (M)

Allan Kozinn Critic's Notebook column on Paul McCartney concert at Cavern Club in Liverpool, Eng; occasion is notable because club was essentially headquarters for The Beatles from 1961 to 1963, band's formative years; in addition to about 300 people squeezed into club, another 12,000 watch concert via closed-circuit television in nearby park, and reported three million via Internet webcast; photos (M)