ANNUAL REPORT

44
ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
ADRIENNE ARSHT LATIN AMERICA CENTER
45
THE NEW LATIN AMERICA
Stereotypes obscure
a democratic and stable
continent transformed by
globalized economies
ADRIENNE ARSHT LATIN
AMERICA CENTER
When the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD)
granted President Juan Manuel Santos’s
request to begin accession negotiations,
Colombia set course to become Latin
America’s third member country—after
Mexico and Chile—in the elite thirtyeight-nation
club of industrialized economies. The moment marked a milestone of
transformation for a country with double-digit manufacturing growth and a booming
energy sector.
Across Latin America, democracies are thriving, supported by a rising middle class.
Individual countries assume larger roles on the global stage, as innovators and as
trading partners. Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico are members of the Group of Twenty
(G20), playing prominent roles in shaping the world economy. In Latin America, more
women have achieved levels of power—presidencies and legislative assemblies—
than nearly any other region. However, much of the world continues to view Latin
America through outdated lenses shaped by old stereotypes, and fails to grasp the
extent and meaning of the region’s dramatic transformation.
Cubans gather for the opening of the US Interests Section in Havana on July 20, 2015
as the two countries begin a new era of post-Cold War relations.
(Photo by REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst.)
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