ABSTRACT

While we have shown that state intervention occurs in every economy, in LA, any pretense of coherent and deliberate state leadership or vision towards economic development has been dropped under the current paradigm of neoliberalism. Neoliberalism, including economic liberalization and privatization is under heavy fire in Latin America. The recent elections of Chavez in Venezuela, Lula in Brazil, Correa in Ecuador, Kirchner in Argentina, and Morales in Bolivia indicate a strong level of unhappiness with the low rates of growth and growing inequality in the region. While a return to the heavy protectionism of earlier decades seems impossible, particularly given the pressures of the external debt load of many Latin American countries, the role of the state remains a subject of implicit debate in the region.