Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America's Soul.

• Author: Hidalgo, Juan Carlos
• Position: Book review

Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America's Soul

Michael Reid

New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2007, 384 pp.

For most of this decade, Latin America has been neglected by the developed world. At least that is a recurring grievance from leaders and specialists in the region. The attention of rich countries has switched to terrorism in the Middle East and poverty in Africa, while pressing needs and conflicts remain unattended in Latin America.

Judging by the title of his book, Michael Reid, editor of the Americas section of The Economist, would seem to follow this argument. However, he presents an optimistic overview of the region and its prospects for the future. He claims that despite being "largely overlooked by the outside world, most of the 'forgotten continent' is moving forward on a path of democratic reformism, even if that is contested in some places."

Reid knows the region well. For almost three decades he has been in the frontlines of reporting. He has the rare quality of being an insider and an outsider, having interviewed many Latin American leaders throughout the years but also having spent time in places such as the shantytowns of Lima or the mountains of southern Mexico. His work greatly benefits from that.

Reid argues that democracy is finally taking hold in the region. Despite the setbacks that the rise of populism represents in countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, there seems to be an emerging consensus in Latin America that favors sound macroeconomic policies and representative constitutional governments. Thanks mostly to the market reforms implemented in the 1990s--the much condemned Washington Consensus--the region has enjoyed several years of robust economic growth that, unlike previous episodes, looks sustainable and is benefiting the masses. This growth has had several consequences, not least the emergence of a socially ambitious middle class grounded in a thriving private economy rather than government employment. The future of Latin American countries as liberal market democracies depends heavily on consolidating and strengthening this nascent middle class.

However, there are serious challenges still facing the region. Poverty affects 36 percent of the population. Unemployment and crime top the surveys as Latin Americans' major concerns. But according to Reid, inequality is the greatest obstacle for the consolidation of democracy. He has a point: Latin America is the most unequal...