This paper raises the question whether the current wave of macro-economic and structural reforms in latin America should be viewed as a decisive change in the continent's long-term development strategy or as part of but another stop-and-go cycle, for which the continent has been known in the past. While no unambiguous answer is provided, the paper outlines what is still needed in the way of persistent micro-economic policy change if obstacles of political economy, including an abundance of natural resources and relatively easy access to foreign capital, are to be overcome.