A war of ideas is raging in Latin America. It is a classic battle between freedom and free enterprise, and statism and dictatorship. It is every bit as important as the battle in Eastern Europe, and the results to date are just as astonishing. In almost every country, the policies of statism (socialism and neo-merchantilism) are in retreat.
Those leading the struggle for freedom have received little help or encouragement from multinational corporations and international lending institutions - both of which tend to support the status quo. Instead, they are drawing on Latin America's heritage of classical liberalism and on a network of private think tanks located in the United States and in other countries around the world.