Latin American society is modernising, mostly for the better

It was a timeless scene. On Easter Thursday several hundred people were gathered in the cavernous Basilica of Guadalupe, built at the spot in the northern suburbs of Mexico City where a 16th century Amerindian shepherd reportedly had a vision of the Virgin Mary. Some sat on wooden benches, others knelt on the marble floor. They were mainly middle-class or poorer, and copper-skinned. Some came to fulfil vows to give thanks for the overcoming of illness or other troubles.