Latin American Development Process and the New Legislative.pdf

THE LATIN AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND THE NEW LEGISLATIVE TRENDS Enrique E. Bledel* I. INTRODUCTION Legislation affecting all facets of economic activity has under- gone drastic change in Latin America in the past twenty-five to thirty years. This change is not the result of a new wave of nation- alism which suddenly blossomed in the region. Such a conclusion would be an oversimplification of a much deeper and complex problem. These nationalistic feelings have existed always and often have been expressed strongly at international forums, but the lack of specific and well-defined objectives and plans for reali- zation apparently have kept them dormant. This change was prompted by the need to create the necessary legal infrastructure to implement new programs designed to promote more rapid economic development, to stimulate international trade and facili- tate the transfer of science and technology from the developed countries and, in so doing, to cure the economies of Latin America of the lethargy which had beset them in the 1940s and 1950s. II. THE PERIOD FROM THE 1940s-1950s: SLOWER DEVELOPMENT It has been pointed out that in the 1930s the level of develop- ment of Canada and Australia was comparable with that of some Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Argentina, Australia and Canada had similar export earnings un- til the beginning of the post war period when Canada and Aus- tralia began to draw ahead rapidly. In 1973, the per capita income of Canada was three times that of Argentina, an