The states and jurisdictions south of the Rio Bravo (alternatively known as the ‘Rio Grande’ in the United States) form a very large historical, cultural, economic, and geographic region usually known as ‘Latin America’. Geographically speaking, these states encompass, with some exceptions that culturally belong to ‘Anglo-America’, the south-western corner of North America where a territorially diminished Mexico serves as regional borderline with the United States; most of the Central American isthmus and South America; and, finally, some island states and island colonies that sit within the waters of the Caribbean basin. By 2005, around 543 million people lived in this area of the world. It has recently become fashionable to say that the next decade, even the next century, will belong to Latin America. For pundits on the left the region stands as the remaining chance in the world for true pluralism, alternative democratic experiments, and sustainable development; with almost equal enthusiasm, businessmen and economic analysts on the right see in the region an expanding middle class that, with its entry into consumerism, will fuel global markets.