Introduction: the characteristics and consequences of late development in Brazil and Mexico / S.A. Hewlett & R.S. Weinert --Mexican and Brazilian economic development / D.H. Graham -- Popular sector incorporation and political supremacy / R.B. Collier -- Foreign investment and dependent development / P. Evans & G. Gereffi -- The State as banker and entrepreneur / D. Bennett & K. Sharpe -- The State and organized labor in Brazil and Mexico / K.P. Erickson & K.J. Middlebrook -- Income distribution trends in Mexico and the Kuznets curves / D. Felix -- Poverty and inequality in Brazil / S.A. Hewlett.