In Latin America, “islands of modernity” associated with a new biological and digital paradigm in the exploitation of natural resources and the production of services and manufactures coexist with vast segments of the population mired in insecurity, poverty, stagnation and social exclusion. This structural dualism reflects a growing gap between a modern segment of society that emulates the behaviour patterns of developed nations and a segment that lags behind, in which labour informality, basic material deprivations and rising citizen insecurity predominate. The lack of an appropriate theory of development capable of examining institutional and regulatory fragility, the capture of State resources by large corporate groups and a lack of long-term policies reflect this internal divide. At the same time, the external divide with South-East Asian countries is widening. This article argues that a new social covenant is needed if growth is to be attained and income distribution is to improve.