Laura Chinchilla was the first woman to serve as president of Costa Rica and one of the first in Latin America.
We talk to her about what that journey to the top job in her country was like, and the challenges facing Latin America - from corruption to crime, the drugs trade, migration, the brain drain, poor governance and low economic productivity.
And we consider some of the potential solutions to those problems - solutions that could help Latin America bring prosperity to its people.
(Picture: Laura Chinchilla Miranda, former President of Costa Rica, speaking at a conference. Credit: Getty Images)
Presented and produced by Gideon Long