Question for Ex-Pats: Difficulty of registering a Business in a Foreign Country?

[worldpremiere]

Hi all, I am an American who wants to open a hostel in South America. I've been looking online, but have been coming up with very few solid leads or answers to my question.

If I wanted to open a hostel in say, Colombia, Brazil, or Argentina... what steps would a foreigner have to take as far as establishing:

-Citizenship/Residency issues
-Tax ID numbers
-Business Registration

Any leads, links, or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much guys!

[Plakian]

I would suggest the starting point would be the web sites of the Embassy of each of the countries in Washington. After that the US Embassy in each of the countries.