Latin American Economy at the Start of Digital Modernization

In the context of the ongoing reformatting of world economic relations, Latin American countries have increased opportunities for technological upsurge and digital modernization of key sectors of national economies. At the same time, Latin American entrepreneurs and politicians seek to act rationally and cautiously. In particular, in the energy sector, the states of the region are trying to combine the transition to carbon neutrality based on the predominant use of new technologies and renewable energy carriers with the intensive exploitation of traditional energy sources, including conventional and shale hydrocarbons. In the mining industry, the main task of Latin American countries is to decarbonize the production process with the help of “green” hydrogen and the most advanced methods of extraction and processing of raw materials. Of global importance are the huge reserves of lithium located in Latin America, without which the further deployment of the technological revolution is extremely difficult. This explains the significant interest shown by transnational corporations in the development of deposits of the “lithium triangle”. In the field of agriculture in Latin America, profound changes are taking place, the system of so-called precision farming is shaping. The role of Latin American countries (primarily Brazil) as suppliers of food to the world market is constantly increasing. All this, and much more, signals new trends in the region that change its usual economic appearance. As shown in the article, the rapid growth of the technology sector in Latin America based on digitalization, “green” energy and precision farming can lead to a deep modernization of the key sectors of the economy and ensure the transition of the region to the “new business normal”, which is the consistent structural transformation and adaptation of Latin American countries to post-Covid world economic realities.