"Since 1960 [Latin America] has seen the lowest growth in productivity of any region in the world, not least because around half of all economic activity takes place in the informal sector. Second, despite some recent improvement, its income distribution is still the most unequal anywhere. This has acted as a drag on growth and caused political conflict."

But...

"Marketing people are beginning to talk about a “Latin American decade”. If the region can keep up the growth of the past few years, it will double its income per person by 2025, to an average of $22,000 a year at purchasing-power parity...Half a dozen countries may have achieved developed-country status, with an income equivalent to Spain’s today." -- A Special Report on Latin America, The Economist, 9/9/2010