In this wide-ranging conversation, Tyler Cowen joins Rasheed and Diego to examine Latin America's structural challenges, cultural strengths, and economic future.
Why do some countries remain trapped in political psychodrama while others quietly stabilize? Can El Salvador become a long-term success story? Why does Argentina produce both world-class literature and chronic fiscal crises? Is Panama the region’s most underrated model? And is the United States slowly becoming a Latin American country in cultural terms?
The discussion moves from nation-building and dollarization to the School of Salamanca, from Madrid’s renaissance to Lima’s culinary dominance, and from Borges to Bukele. Throughout, Cowen returns to a central theme: growth is a moral imperative but drama often gets in the way.
This is a conversation about stability versus spectacle, culture versus institutions, and what it would take for Latin America to finally become “boring” — in the best possible sense.
Support the show
