Most developing countries have been forced to undertake new programs, changes in structural adjustment has been accompanied by a process of trade and investment liberalization, economic deregulation and privatization. Industrial policy has been softened considerably reduced in scope and modalities especially in case of Latin America.
Only the laws and regulations on industrial safety, standardization and environmental protection, as in our case have been strengthened, which also remain in effect in its own way the law of consumer protection and promotion of free competition. To this must be added that in the current scenarios is another fact, as emphasized by Joseph Ramos, director of the Division of Productive Development and Management of ECLAC, that despite the advances in productivity that has characterized the opening and restructuring, it is important to note that the average productivity gap between developed countries and Latin America is currently significant (around 2.5 to 1) and widespread (covering the bulk of the sectors and companies). However, there are a few companies ‘leaders’ close to the technological frontier.
The low average productivity is reflected in the use of equipment and production processes, outdated technologies (hard). Just as an inefficient organization of work, a fact that can not be denied and objective of this analysis, where industrial relations are adversarial, inadequate attention to quality and the needs of an evolving market (soft technology). Therefore not surprising reality that there is a percentage of the poor, given to working in very low productivity activities in squalid wages and a deteriorating quality of life.