Recounts Brazil's evolution from remote Portuguese colony, through economic crises that led to more prudent monetary policies, and to its new status as a regional leader, a respected ambassador for the developing world, and an increasingly important partner for the United States and European...

The historical context -- Two centuries of South American reflections on the development gap between the United States and Latin America / Tulio Halperin Donghi -- Looking at them: a Mexican perspective on the gap with the United States / Enrique Krauze -- Explaining Latin America's lagging...