Professional Training in Social Work: The Process of Conversation, Improvement and Breakdown in the Context of Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

To discuss this topic, we need to clarify the term Latin America, created at the end of the Second World War, when the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean - CEPAL was created.  It was used to refer to the lesser developed countries of the American continent. Latin America refers to a geographical area covering approximately 3.9% of the surface of the Earth (or 14.1% of the land surface) and includes twenty countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. What do these 20 countries have in common to permit their organization into Latin America?