The Contemporary Latin American Economies: Neoliberal Reconstruction

Closely associated with the financial crisis and the change in the policies of multilateral lending agencies, a radical shift occurred in economic policy by Latin American governments. By the end of the 1980s, almost all Latin American countries had adopted a neoliberal policy orientation. With this change of policy direction went a new language of discourse, deriving from the value-laden term "free" markets. This chapter explains how that change in policy came about, its consequences for the region, and its implications for development strategy. An important vehicle for the denationalization of Latin American economies was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which most countries of the region did not join until the 1980s. The passive acceptance of debt service by most Latin American governments requires a class analysis to be explained: the upper classes incurred the debt, while for the most part the lower classes paid it off.