ABSTRACT
Between 1930 and 1980, Latin American governments increasingly directed national economic trajectories, turning toward inward-looking development strategies. Founded in 1949, the Economic Commission for Latin America's advocacy for structural changes to global economies was put into practice via a variety of protections from tariffs to multiple exchange rates. Populist governments and right- and left-wing authoritarian governments alike touted industrial production and diversification as essential for Latin America's transformation. Agricultural diversification and expansion were both more tenable for small economies and embraced by large economies later in the period. Even with agricultural expansion, urbanization rates accelerated between 1950 and 1980. Economic growth was most impressive during the same 30 years, when Latin American economies grew 2.7 percent per capita annually, but inequality remained high, particularly between countries. The backdrop of Cold War politics enabled this growth, facilitating international loans to anti-communist governments and making Latin America the most heavily indebted region in the world by the 1970s. This left the region particularly susceptible to authoritarian leadership and global price fluctuations.
