What are major challenges for Latin America today? Thinkers from the region have provided deep philosophical reflections and analyses on issues which are important for the continent in contemporary times and have suggested various solutions. For instance, Carlos Alberto Siri, a Salvadorian scholar, and Bolivar Echevarria, an Ecuadorian-born-nationalized Mexican philosopher, have written about Baroque contemporary societies as an alternative to modernity. In terms of Mexico, it has a very particular political history because it is one of the few Latin American countries that did not suffer from military dictatorship. Social democracy especially defined by Robert Curley can be considered an alternative to political systems, however such a political concept still needs more study.

Latin America needs a profound process of deepening the national-historical consciousness. This process is not based on nationalism but on cultural traditions and values developed through generations. Till today many people in the region still do not recognize themselves as Latin Americans because of the colonial past which has created a barrier that limits the access to the appreciation of our own culture and neighboring people. In this sense, we are isolating each other among ourselves and weakening our own cultural identities as Latin Americans. For instance, in Brazil, we are more aware of our African roots than the Latin American heritage both in music and in religion.

Miguel Angel Centeno and Andrés Lajous in their article “Challenges for Latin America in the 21st Century” point out Latin American countries do not have sufficient “conditions” for nation-building. What are conditions needed for Latin America to develop the nation-state? Can we look for such conditions from different indigenous traditions or a mix of past heritages? What are “useful” resources for generating such conditions? What is the “alternative modernity” that fits in our own land? What are the negative side-effects of just borrowing others’ models for our own use? What are positive elements that are compatible or needed for developing our own way of governance? What kind of the political system that works for or fits in our own cultural tradition and people?