Publisher's Synopsis
For several years, "Washington" - notably the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the US government - has urged the Latin American debtor nations to make fundamental changes in their economic policies. This study offers an overview of the reform efforts in eight Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela) and two groups of small countries (in the Caribbean and Central America). It assesses their impact in restoring growth, and whether the underlying model is justified.;Reform has been much more extensive than is generally recognized. In order to complete the historical transition to freemarket democracies, however, Latin American countries now need to sustain and complete the process which will require the help of the industrial countries, particularly through a definitive settlement of the debt problem for countries that implement and sustain reform. The study draws on the results of an international conference held in November 1989.