Is history repeating itself in Latin America?
Throughout the past year, as nearly a dozen Latin American countries elected new presidents, reports in American newspapers have been full of gloomy déjà vu. Time and again, readers have been given the impression that Latin America’s voters have decided to turn back the clock and revive the ruinous economic populism of the 1970s. And if you’ve checked ACCLA’s website lately, you couldn’t miss an essay by John Murphy entitled “Chronicle of a bust foretold.” Though you wouldn’t know it from the title, it offers a less than cheerful take on Latin America’s near-term prospects… Today I’d like to respectfully disagree with John’s conclusions—even though I concur with virtually all of his recommendations. The truth is, I am more bullish than ever on Latin America. But to understand why, it helps to look beyond the headlines and focus on long-term trends. The headlines tend to focus on the populist rhetoric that is being heard in several Latin America countries. This is not surprising. Latin
