ABSTRACT
The political sphere displays a character that is markedly at variance with the economic strength most of the Latin American countries have built up but that has been badly eroded by the protracted debt crisis of the 1980s. Economic planning was widely introduced, but in general, it was much more effective in improving and mobilizing economically relevant information than in actually guiding resource use in any prescriptive form. Besides generally complicating the task of the state in accumulating capital, class relationships have been a major factor in generating severe frictions during economic restructuring and stabilization programs, whether induced by the International Monetary Fund or otherwise. Real headway was made in realigning policies in a more productive way, particularly in respect of the parastatal and public sectors, and in a greater appreciation of the role of macroeconomic stability, exports, foreign investment, and domestic capital formation.
