Latin America thrives during US ‘lost decade’

As the United States geared up to respond to the 9/11 attacks, its geopolitical priorities focused on the Middle East and Central Asia during the last 10 years in what some observers call “the lost decade”.

In addition to other changing factors on the international stage, Latin America took full advantage of the distractions of its giant neighbour and traditional partner to spread its wings in search of different political, diplomatic and, above all, economic directions.

As a result, several countries in the region elected governments that were less docile to Washington’s tastes, established relations with other nations that, in the past, would have been considered a bit too exotic and prioritised the trade with them, especially China.

Experts continue to debate the cause and long term effects of this shift, but it is certain that the region reaffirmed its sense of identity and independence.

Many countries revitalised their economies and came out relatively unscathed from the financial crisis of 2008, which still affects the US and Europe.

“September 11, 2001, does, more or less, mark the time when Latin America came to birth as a truly independent entity,” says Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, COHA, a Washington-based left-leaning think tank.

The harbingers of this new stance were the administrations of Lula da Silva in Brazil and Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. The first, highlighted by his dramatic campaign in search of a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, the second by his defiant radical populism.

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