Latin America's millennials and the region's institutional renewal

Abstract

The millenials are the generation of people born between early 1980's and the year 2000. Latin America is a region where the millennials are the segment of an age-larger number of the total population (30%), with approximately 176 million of people. The rapid proliferation of the Internet and the massive technological connectivity during their youth has accelerated the pace at which this generation is performing at a professional, academic and personal level. In Latin America, institutional reforms should aim for a reduced reliance on already weakened political centralism, as well as the strengthening of mechanisms to identify and punish corruption. Public policies should also enhance the flexibility and diversification of the economy; the promotion of technologies that facilitate entrepreneurship and knowledge sharing; respect for individual freedoms and a renewed confidence in the rule of law, particularly through the autonomy of sub-national governments.