“Latin America actually lacks an identity because it has them all,” says Ernesto Talvi—a Brookings nonresident senior fellow—as he reflects on how Peruvian poet Mario Vargas Llosa described Latin America. In this podcast, Talvi, who directs the Brookings Global-CERES Economic and Social Policy in Latin America Initiative, explains why there are actually three Latin Americas based on macroeconomic factors; why nations such as Chile, Peru, Mexico and Colombia have very strong fundamentals (and why Argentina and Venezuela are troubling); why economic growth has slowed in the region since 2011; and why inequalities throughout the region are inconsistent with a stable social order. Also, listen to find out why Talvi chose the University of Chicago and its frigid winters for graduate study in economics, a world away from his temperate native country, Uruguay.

Talvi recently authored the report, “Macroeconomic Vulnerabilities in an Uncertain World: One Region, Three Latin Americas.”

In one of our regular special segments, Governance Studies Fellow John Hudak describes the blog series on the most important issues and Senate races in the upcoming midterm elections. Visit FixGov blog to learn more.

Show Notes:

• Macroeconomic Vulnerabilities in an Uncertain World: One Region, Three Latin Americas• A New Trans-American Partnership• U.S. Embassy Montevideo fact sheet on Uruguay (PDF)• Brookings Global-CERES Economic and Social Policy in Latin America Initiative• Latin America Initiative• The Paradoxes of Latin America (article by Mario Vargas Llosa)• Podcast: What You Should Know about the Rise of Brazil and the Rest of Latin America• Podcast: Trade Clearly Matters