<P> Latin America as a region has multiple nation - states , with varying levels of economic complexity . The Latin American economy is an export - based economy consisting of individual countries in the geographical regions of Central America , South America , and the Caribbean . The socioeconomic patterns of what is now called Latin America were set in the colonial era when the region was controlled by the Spanish and Portuguese empires . Up until independence in the early nineteenth century , colonial Latin American regional economies boomed . Many parts of the region had favorable factor endowments of deposits of precious metals , mainly silver , or tropical climatic conditions and locations near coasts that allowed for the development of cane sugar plantations . In the nineteenth century following independence , many economies of Latin America declined . In the late nineteenth century , much of Latin America was integrated into the world economy as an exporter of commodities . Foreign capital investment , construction of infrastructure , such as railroads , growth in the labor sector with immigration from abroad , strengthening of institutions , and expansion of education aided industrial growth and economic expansion . A number of regions have thriving economies , but `` poverty and inequality have been deeply rooted in Latin American societies since the early colonial era . '' </P>
<P> Latin America as a region has multiple nation - states , with varying levels of economic complexity . The Latin American economy is an export - based economy consisting of individual countries in the geographical regions of Central America , South America , and the Caribbean . The socioeconomic patterns of what is now called Latin America were set in the colonial era when the region was controlled by the Spanish and Portuguese empires . Up until independence in the early nineteenth century , colonial Latin American regional economies boomed . Many parts of the region had favorable factor endowments of deposits of precious metals , mainly silver , or tropical climatic conditions and locations near coasts that allowed for the development of cane sugar plantations . In the nineteenth century following independence , many economies of Latin America declined . In the late nineteenth century , much of Latin America was integrated into the world economy as an exporter of commodities . Foreign capital investment , construction of infrastructure , such as railroads , growth in the labor sector with immigration from abroad , strengthening of institutions , and expansion of education aided industrial growth and economic expansion . A number of regions have thriving economies , but `` poverty and inequality have been deeply rooted in Latin American societies since the early colonial era . '' </P>
what type of economy does latin america have
what type of economy does latin america have
export - based
export - based