This article focuses on the financial and currency crises that have occurred in the context of financial globalization in Latin America. It is divided into four sections. The first provides an overview of financial globalization in the last three decades. The second offers a model applicable both to the 1990s crises and those of the early 1980s. The third examines other experiences of globalization that did not lead to crises and analyses preventive measures in the light of these. The fourth reviews the routes that lead to segmented financial integration and touches on the problems of international coordination.