This issue of the CIDOB Journal of Afers Internacionals offers a rigorous, in-depth analysis of the transformations that have taken place in Latin America during this decade, and to highlight the challenges that will arise in the immediate future.

During the first decade of the 21st century, Latin America has become a laboratory of social, political and economic transformations, based on a very painful reality – this is the continent with the greatest amount of inequality in the world. Likewise, this region currently finds itself at a contradictory point in time, given that historic opportunities are appearing, though the possibility also exists of repeating past mistakes and perpetuating weaknesses that seem to be entrenched and permanent. With reference to the economy, although Latin America has experienced periods of sustained growth for the first time in several years, it is being left behind by other competitors in Asia, and the impact of the current global economic crisis is threatening to reverse the advances that have been achieved. The continent's exports have increased significantly, but Latin America is still suffering from insufficient participation in the world economy. In the field of politics, democratic regimes have been maintained and consolidated, though the rights and liberties guaranteed by their constitutions are far from effective, and public institutions are continually subjected to intense cycles of instability. Furthermore, the fact that most of the governments in the region have veered to the left has generated new debates, including those that prioritise the role of the market, and others that highlight the role of the State in the fight against poverty. And finally, in the international sphere, new debates have arisen on what Latin America's role is in a global world that is organised into trade blocs, and in which new powers such as China, India and South Africa are emerging.

ISSN: 1133-6595

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