Progress in a Stormy World (1930–1945)

Abstract

The worldwide crisis that erupted in 1929 had a rapid and devastating impact on Latin America. The clearest indication of it was the collapse, in most countries, of existing political arrangements. Although the intensity of the crisis made itself felt immediately, most Latin Americans did not then realize its long-term implications for the political and economic formulas that had characterized the mature neocolonial order. The return to normalcy was, in fact, not “just around the corner,” and it would be necessary to find significantly new solutions to the unfamiliar problems of the years ahead.