Latin America: goodbye industry, hello standstill

Abstract

This paper analyzes the characteristics of latin america which, in some way, explain its current positioning in the world market, and its chances of present and future development. In spite of having gone through a decade of poverty reduction guided by progressive governments, the continent has suffered a re-primarization of its economy - unlike asian countries - which is slowly showing its consequences and, despite general belief, has not contributed to the reduction of structural inequity. With the re-primarization of the economy and the following deindustrialization, the demand for qualified work has become relatively scarce, below the supply of school and university graduates. Industrialization, in this sense, appears as a key factor in development and generation of direct and indirect employment, and sustainable growth. But it will only be possible if it is accompanied by an improvement in the productivity of the work that requires an investment in technology.