New economic realities take hold in Latin America

FIFA World Cup Host City Tour
A general view of the Arena da Baixada during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Host City Tour on January 21, 2014 in Curitiba, Brazil.
Friedemann Vogel /FIFA via Getty Images

While some countries continue to make international news as they battle drug cartels and flash mobs, some experts say Latin America as whole is a picture of growing prosperity.

Enrique Krauze, historian and director of the literary magazine Letras Libres, recently wrote about it in The New York Times:

There has been major progress in Latin America, compared with a long period of military coups, civil wars, soaring inflation and financial crashes.

Latin America of late has shown a maturity without precedent in its turbulent history. Our longtime tendency toward anarchy and dictatorship has veered into formal respect for electoral democracy. Equally encouraging has been our reaction to the worldwide financial crisis. We have certainly been damaged by it, but a number of our economies have responded solidly and effectively in a way that it as admirable as it was unexpected. Along the way, many of the governments concerned have learned key lessons: never ignore social problems so long that popular violence breaks out, and always attend to the poorest and most marginalized citizens.

Although slowing, Brazil has the sixth largest economy in the world, which has been growing for the last decade. The country was chosen to host this year's World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The world's richest man, Carlos Slim Helu, lives in Mexico and the country seems to be following in the billionaire's footsteps with projected growth.

On The Daily Circuit we talk about the future of Latin American countries.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.