Latin America is usually recognized as the most unequal region in the world. It seems clear that the region faces important obstacles to development. But how do we understand the challenges to Latin America’s development? In a recent article, Emilia Ormaechea analyzes the changes in the idea of development in the contributions of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) from its creation, in 1948, to the present day. She argues that ECLAC had a very critical understanding of the challenges that a development strategy for Latin America entailed, especially during the structuralist period. However, this critical perspective lost relevance in 1990, after the neoliberal offensive and the shift from structuralism to neostructuralism.