"At Least We're Not Africa"

Having concentrated mostly on Latin America development in my young career, I've recently been thinking about various African development issues. One problem that has bothered me for a while, is that no all that long ago, both Latin America and Africa were colonized regions. Dictators similarly exploited the populations and resources from two of the world’s poorest continents. Although Latin America is clearly not perfect and still has its own problems, I've heard people from Argentina to Mexico repeatedly state, "At least we're not Africa." Yes, Latin America is still largely impoverished, but how has the region managed to integrate itself into the world economy in ways that Africa still has yet to accomplish?

In the 80's, the US was pouring arms into Nicaragua (Iran-Contra Scandal), so the usual response, "violence," can't be what separates the two. A quarter of Bolivians still live on less than $1.25 a day and sweatshops litter tax-free zones across Central America, but when African countries still fall to the bottom of every list of economic indicators, Latin America comparatively seems like it's part of the First World. I am desperate to find what factors have lead to Latin America's relative success compared to that of African nations. While trying to isolate the differences between these two regions, I wonder, why haven't successful Latin American policies been translated into African contexts?

"At Least We're Not Africa"