However, there are serious short-term obstacles that need to be hurdled. These involve both political and financial volatility. Despite the remarkable achievements of recent decades in Latin America, a number of critical problems were highlighted in the task force discussions. Severe income maldistribution remains in most countries. There is a continuing need for public sector reform particularly in dealing with corruption.
Government accountability needs to be strengthened.
The traditional political parties have moved slowly to reform and have lost public support. This tends to benefit parties and candidates who are extremists. Moreover, external events in the global economy such as the Asian financial difficulties are negatively affecting Latin American economies. U.S.-Latin American Relations US relations with Latin America have improved immensely due to the region's successes in economic and political. Latin America's geopolitical significance has grown during the last 20 years.