The Latin American and Caribbean region faces three major structural traps or challenges that hinder its development: low growth capacity; high inequality and limited social mobility; and institutional weakness accompanied by ineffective governance. These challenges, which are deeply interconnected and mutually reinforcing, generate a vicious cycle of productive stagnation, social exclusion, and institutional fragility.

However, digital transformation and the adoption of new technologies—such as artificial intelligence—offer a unique opportunity to break this cycle. This document examines how digitalization and, in particular, artificial intelligence (AI) can serve as catalysts for improving productivity, reducing inequality gaps, and strengthening institutional capacities across the region. The transformative impact of AI is already beginning to take shape, and preliminary data suggest that its influence on economic growth and the labour market will become even greater in the coming years.

The document also provides an overview of the digital strategies being implemented by countries in the region, together with a set of recommendations aimed at enhancing their effectiveness and promoting the genuine and effective adoption of digital technologies. These proposals seek to guide the design of policies and initiatives within the framework of a regional digital agenda with a time horizon set for 2026.