This post is a summary of an article with the title above, written by Former President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias and published in February 2011 at http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67202/oscar-arias/culture-matters
Nearly two centuries after the countries of Latin America gained their independence from Spain and Portugal, not one of them is developed. Where have they gone wrong? Why have countries in other regions, once far behind, managed to achieve relatively quickly results that Latin America countries have aspired to for so long? Many in the region respond to such questions with conspiracy theories or self-pitying excuse. They blame the Spanish empire, or the American empire. They say that financial institutions have schemed to hold the region back, that globalization was designed to keep it in the shadows. In short, they place the blame for underdevelopment anywhere but on Latin America itself. The truth is that so much time has passed since independence that Latin Americans have lost the right to use others as the excuse for their own failures. Various outside powers have indeed affected the region`s fate. But that is true for every region of the world. Latin America nations began with conditions equal to, or even better than, those prevailing elsewhere. We are ones who fell behind. When Harvard University opened its doors in 1636, there were already well-established universities in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru. In 1820, the GDP of Latin America as a whole was 12.5% greater than that of the U.S. Today, with a population of about 560 million, some 250 million more than U.S. the region has a GDP that is only 29% of its northern neighbor. Tired of empty words and meaningless promises, people in the region are disillusioned with politics in general. Recognizing their own share of responsibility for the situation, however, could be the start of rewriting history. The key is accepting that four regional cultural traits are obstacles that need to be overcome for development to succeed: resistance to change, absence of confidence, fragile democratic norms, and a soft spot for militarism. Latin Americans glorify their past and instead of a culture of improvement, they have promoted a culture of preservation of the status quo. Constant, patient reform, compatible with democratic stability is unsatisfying. Latin Americans preferring a certain present to an uncertain future. Some of this is only natural, entirely human. But the fear is paralyzing, it generates not only anxiety but also paralysis. To make matters worse, the region`s political leaders rarely have the patience or the skill to walk their people through the processes of reform. In a democracy, a leader must be the teacher, someone eager to respond to doubts and questions and explain the need for and the benefits of a new course. But too often in Latin America, leaders justify themselves with a simple "because I say so." Latin America has more controllers than entrepreneurs. The region lacks effective mechanisms to support innovative projects. Someone seeking to start a new business must begin by wading through waves of bureaucracy and arbitrary requirements. Entrepreneurs get minimal praise or cultural reinforcement, little legal protection, and scarce academic support. The region`s universities, meanwhile, are turning out the kinds of professionals that development demands. Latin America graduates six professionals in the social sciences for every two in engineering and every one in the exact sciences. Visiting a Latin American university is like traveling to the past, to an era in which Russia and China had yet to embrace capitalism. Instead of giving students practical tools, such as technological and language skills, to help them succeed in a globalized world, many schools devote themselves to teaching authors no one reads and repeating doctrines in which no one believes. For development to occur, this has to change. Latin America countries must begin to reward innovators and creators. Their universities must reform their academic offerings and invest in science and technology. They must attract investment and promote the tranfer of knowledge. The second obstacle is the absence of confidence. No development project can prosper in a place where suspicion reigns, the success of others is viewed with misgiving, and creativity and drive are met with wariness. Latin americans doubt the true intentions of all those cross their paths. We believe that everyone has a secret agenda and that it is better not to get too involved in collective efforts. We are captives to a prisoner`s dilemma in which each person contributes as little as possible to the common interest. It has been said that legal security is the protection of trust. They must be able to antecipate the legal consequences of their actions. The third obstacle blocking development is the fragility of the commitment to democracy. To be sure, with the exception of Cuba, the region is entirely democratic today. But the truth is that the victory is incomplete. Despite carefully crafted constitutions, Latin America still has a soft spot for authoritarianism. If Latin American democracies do not live up to their political and economic promise, if their citizens` hopes remain deferred, then authoritarianism will rise again. The way to prevent that is show the public that democracy works, that it truly can build more prosperous societies. Moving beyond political sclerosis, becoming more responsive to citizens`demands and generating fiscal resources. Increasing public income is no sufficient, those funds must also be spent wisely, to promote human development. Each year, the region spends $60 billion on arms and soldiers, double what it spent just five years ago. Why? Who is going to attack whom? The enemies of the people in the region are hunger, ignorance, disease and crime. They are internal, and they can be defeated only through smart public policy. Latin Americans must look in the mirror and confront the reality that many of our problems lie in ourselves. We must lose our fear of change. We must embrace entrepreneuship. We must learn to trust. we must strengthen our commitment to democracy. Only then will the region attain the development it has so long sought.
