A former Harvard professor, Jorge Dominguez, PhD, has spent most of his career teaching, researching, and lecturing on Latin America. With a number of books and articles published about topics in the region, Dr. Jorge Dominguez’s current focus is on comparative politics and international affairs in Mexico and Cuba. Like many other regions with emerging economies around the globe, Latin America is finding itself in the middle of a technology boom.
The area is often stereotyped as poverty-ridden, volatile, and politically unstable. However, technology has been at the core of moving close to 56 million Latin Americans out of poverty and providing stability for many Latin American countries. With significant investment in technology from sources around the world, the Latin American technological landscape is poised for tremendous growth.
As this growth takes place, broadband technologies are a priority. For instance, providing access to residents in hard to reach areas is integral to the region’s evolution. Just by having access to these technologies, Latin Americans stand to benefit from improved public and health services (for example tele-medicine), educational opportunities, and increased productivity.
More importantly, the market is fertile for investment. Argentina, for example, is the eighth largest exporter of computer technology in the world. Furthermore, China, among others, has been a significant investor in the Latin American tech industry.
Of course, the region will face challenges in the midst of this growth. Like many countries on the cusp of a boom, infrastructure needs to catch up with demand. For example, cyber security and regulatory issues still have to be hashed out for the countries that make up Latin America. In addition, making technology accessible primarily through its affordability is will be critical to sustaining technology gains.
Jorge Dominguez 