The push for sustainable development in Latin America will require a major overhaul of the frameworks governing political, social and economic interactions. It is difficult to visualize the region’s increasingly complex economic matrix without a concurrent strengthening of the rule of law. It is in this sense that the effort to improve institutions in the region opens the path to the development of increasingly productive economic activities that, in turn, create better jobs. Such dynamics can no longer be neglected in a region plagued by the human drama of migration and human rights abuses. Relevant stakeholders must reflect on the overlapping themes between the strengthening of the rule of law in the region and economic development.