Looking at how Latin American countries have coped with the 1994 Mexican crisis and the earlier debt crisis of the 1980s, this book reveals the full extent of what has come to be known as the tequila effect. Written by distinguished economists and financiers from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States, the volume also examines the social, political, and economic issues associated with ever-expanding trade and globalization.

The book opens with chapters considering the impact of the Mexican crisis on Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela, and it provides an interesting account of the events leading up to the crisis itself. In the following section, the contributors examine issues of economic growth by considering such topics as the need for a new growth strategy, by comparing the Latin American and Asian economies, and by looking at the Cuban economy from a trading partner's perspective. The final section takes an indepth look at the complex issues of neoliberalist versus neopopulist thinking in shaping Latin America's economic policies for the 21st century.