Brazil and Mexico in the 1980s

Brazil and Mexico are two of the biggest economic and political powers in Latin America, who both had a major influence on the trajectory of the region during the 1980s. During that decade, both countries experienced major changes to state and society. Popular thought, supported by contemporary social scientists, consider this period as the “lost decade.” However, this decade was fundamental in shaping the two countries’ political economic development and creating the historical foundations of the present moment. Both countries went through their own process of change with unique results. Yet, Brazil and Mexico also shared many features and outcomes such as the rise of neoliberalism and the exacerbation of inequality. Historians have recently taken up the study of this period that advances our knowledge of its influence on today’s world.