The crisis at the core of the global economy, and especially the ensuing absence of imagination, the hesitation, and the insufficiency of the response among leaders have caused perplexity among Latin Americans. The crisis has not been catastrophic in the South of the globe. It has left many countries with more freedom from the North, but that also means with fewer excuses to avoid self-examination. More freedom yes, but freedom to do what? I subscribe to the notion that capitalism is fate, but that is not a consolation, because its own future is uncertain. We are creatures of a world historical process that has no return, yet it has led us to hard choices. How to reconcile the indispensability of a system with policies that avert its most pernicious consequences? Capitalism teeters on the verge of bankruptcy; the tried alternatives to it have been wanting—if not outright unviable or worse. What therefore is to be done? Latin America is a region of bewildering diversity, so its visions, and its reactions to the world crisis also vary. My task in this chapter is to highlight the differences, but also to point to common themes. Here are some of the dilemmas, beginning with the overall system and zooming in on the different trajectories of some countries enmeshed in its web.