Latin America's Tide of Prosperity Has Not Lifted All Boats Equally

The US’s bipolar understanding and discussion of Latin America has been particularly in evidence in the last five years. First, the public consensus declared Brazil the newly arrived global economic power while painting Mexico’s bloody war on narcotrafficking as a sign of a country on the brink of state collapse. Then, when Brazil’s economic growth flagged and Mexico’s rose, it flipped: Brazil had failed to tackle critical reforms during the economic boom while Mexico had done all the right things. Now, in the wake of popular protests in Brazil and lingering student protests in Chile, the message has turned again, becoming almost indignant–as if we had all been deceived.

As with any situation–particularly in Latin America–the truth is much more complex and mixed. The growth in gross domestic product and dramatic reduction of poverty and concomitant rise in the middle class in countries such as Brazil, Peru and Mexico has bred a legitimate sense of optimism about the region. But focusing on these macro-numbers has distracted from the other dimensions of economic, political and social wellbeing, such as citizens’ sense of economic security, sense of empowerment and government responsiveness, lack of discrimination, and rights. In a word: social inclusion.

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