CAN NEOLIBERALISM SURVIVE IN LATIN-AMERICA

The improvement in Latin America's economic performance in the early 1 990s coincided with a change in policy direction as governments adopte d a more market-oriented approach. However, with the peso crisis of 19 95 in Mexico, this economic recovery has proven fragile, and the durab ility of the neoliberal paradigm itself is in doubt. This article inve stigates the factors that led to the adoption of neoliberal policies a nd identifies the principal threats to their continued implementation. The analysis shows how the interaction between balance of payments pr oblems, income distribution and economic growth will create significan t difficulties for Latin American economies over the next few years, s uch that the appeal of neoliberalism may come to rely on the inferiori ty of alternative paradigms. Therefore, neoliberalism promptly needs t o address a number of key issues, many of which centre on the appropri ate role of the state, if it is to survive in Latin America.