Publisher's Synopsis
Latin America and North America are on red alert in the current context of an accelerated change of time, which, like any turning point, also provides a short time to meet new challenges and correct direction.
Latin-American countries must completely change its erroneous and inertial socio-economic and political track to overcome its structural deficit. Get rid of the trap that a large part of society wants a living standard like that of the developed countries, with levels of productivity that are extremely low, and other serious deficits, so the income they generate is very far from that required to achieve welfare. In this context, this unfulfilled expectation has clearly created a sense of frustration. This, combined with demagoguery, corruption, and impunity, which dominate its political system and socio-economic elites, generates recurrent institutional and social crises. Another major challenge is integration. This is of far-reaching significance for the development of Latin America and for the future of the United States as a global power. Because, as discussed and strong documented here, "the neighborhood matters" and a lot. The recent establishment of the RCEP block in Asia Pacific and Oceania and the AfCFTA in Africa, plus the consolidate European Union, are important signs in the economic and business field with strong socio political and cultural prospective influence. So, there is a deep need for integration including a pragmatic development strategy for equalizing up the countries. If this is not done, the opposite will happen with great possibility, because every Latin American country has bilateral ties with China as an emerging power, as has happened in the past 20 years. This type of relationship will eventually further divide the region more than it is now, reducing its global competitiveness for the South, Central and North America. On the other hand, according to the Global Prospective Development Measure (c) - GPDM (R), published in this book for the first time, by 2020, they are 43 developed countries in the world among 190 countries measured, from Greece (+5) to Denmark (+215). The top 20 are above +100, including the United States (+145) and Canada (+107).Latin American countries are all developing ones, with Chile (-34), Uruguay (-43) and Argentina (-53). Thirteen or them range from -61 to -120, from Costa Rica and Panama to the most populous countries in the region, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru, as well as Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, and El Salvador. The values for Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti range from -121 to -165, while the lowest world's estimate is for Niger with -176. Another important analytical contribution is the estimation of the speed of progress on the road to development. Latin America exhibits an average of one unit of GPDM per year, while the developed countries register an average of two units per year. So, the most advanced countries in the region are around 35 to 55 years away from the development border.
The emerging power, China, still a developing country, registers a GPDM of -55, but is developing at a speed of 3 units per year. Therefore, it will cross the border into developed countries within 20 years. Its fast speed is three times that of its main competitor, the United States, twice that of Europe, and three to six times that of Latin America. The style of the book is oriented to readers in all fields of society. Focus on a constructive criticism and to overcome any sign of complacency and extreme ideological temptation. Because, they have caused great damage to the region in the historical process. The leit-motiv is to provide illustrative data and narratives for cultivating critical changes in the way of thinking to begin building a future of development, increasing well-being and greater democratic coexistence.
