ABSTRACT
Latin America is undergoes some fundamental class changes at the same time that other new and accelerated social currents are adding to the possibilities for conflict and breakdown. Socialism occupies the middle of the Latin American political spectrum, with social democracy on the right; there are no groups of what Americans would call conservatives on most Latin American campuses. Unchecked population growth rates and immense social problems, in a time of economic downturn, have undoubtedly contributed to rising violence and tension in Latin America. In virtually all the countries of Latin America, half the population is under eighteen years of age. In some of the countries half the population is under fifteen. Latin American landholding has long been characterized by latifundia on the one hand and minifundia on the other. The population-treadmill effect means hard choices in a period of retrenchment.
