Does Latin America have a future?

The title of this new book by the Venezuelan academic and diplomat Alfredo Toro Hardy reflects the current frustration of Latin America, the region of the world where the most efforts have been made to promote development, but also where, paradoxically, the most negative results have accumulated. In recent years, the number of poor people in the region has increased by 20 million, and its main development indicators are lower in the 1990s than in the 1970s. The work summarizes the current reflection on the development policies recently applied in the region, as well as the difficulties faced in defining viable alternative policies. By rejecting what he calls "inflexible recipe books", which aspire to serve in all circumstances "like those derived from the" Washington Consensus", the author points out that what the future of Latin America requires is learning to develop and apply one's own "recipebook". ", understand the mechanisms that transform their economy, adjust the chosen models to the specific national situations, and get the changes they decide to introduce right. The book takes up some issues raised The era of the villages "another of the author's books, published by this editorial two years ago, and offers initial comments from two world authorities on trade and development: the current secretary general of UNCTAD and president of the Council of the World Trade Organization. A book to clarify concerns about regional development.