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“Latin America actually lacks an identity because it has them all,” says —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 , 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, “.” In one of our regular special segments, Governance Studies Fellow  describes the blog series on the most important issues and Senate races in the upcoming midterm elections. Visit  to learn more. Show Notes: • • •  (PDF)• • •  (article by Mario Vargas Llosa)• •