The structure of Latin America: Raúl Prebisch and the beginnings of ECLAC

Abstract

This article studies Latin American structuralism between the 1940s and 1950s and aims to understand its relationship with Raúl Prebisch’s thought and ECLAC’s creation. In dialogue with theoretical studies and intellectual history, some texts written by Prebisch between the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War were investigated. Based on a historiographical review, four moments of this trajectory are established: that of the seeds of Latin American structuralism; the development of the center-periphery theory and types of development; the theory of economic cycles; and the “Latin American Manifesto”. The consolidation of Latin American structuralism represented a milestone for Latin America, accompanied by theoretical and institutional transformations brought  about by ECLAC.