It has been over twenty years since the Brazilian Sistema Unico de Saude (Unified Health System or SUS) was formally established by the 1988 Constitution. The impetus for the SUS came in part from rising costs and a crisis in the social security system that preceded the reforms, but also from a broad-based political movement calling for democratization and improved social rights. Building on reforms that started in the 1980s, the SUS was based on three overarching principles: (i) universal access to health services, with health defined as a citizen's right and an obligation of the state; (ii)...

Argentina is passing through a demographic transition that constitutes a window of economic and social opportunities and challenges. Argentina's working-age population represents the largest proportion of its total population. The country just began a 30-year period with the most advantageous age structure of its population, which could favor greater economic growth. This situation, known as the demographic window of opportunity, will last until the 2040s. The dynamics of the fertility and mortality rates signify a gradual aging of the population, with implications for various dimensions of...