XXIX International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association
John Coatsworth
Columbia University
Javier Corrales
Amherst College
Nina Gerassi-Navarro
Tufts University
The U.S. financial crisis of 2008 quickly became a global economic crisis. It destroyed jobs, increased poverty and disease, exacerbated social tensions, raised skepticism about the efficacy of democratic governance, led to policy experimentation, complicated efforts to deal with global problems multilaterally, and fueled civil and international conflict. The impact of the crisis in Latin America has varied from country to country, community to community, even neighborhood to neighborhood. In Latin America, the crisis was both reminiscent of previous crises but also different, in terms of transmission mechanisms, impact, and responses. Understanding the effects of the crisis, and the varied responses to it, calls for insights from multiple disciplines. Recovery, when it comes, will be shaped by the way citizens, governments, and international organizations understand the causes and consequences of the crisis itself.