Latin America and the Caribbean is in the throes of a period of low economic growth, high-inflation processes, increasing extreme poverty and rising food and fuel prices, the result of unresolved structural gaps and the effects of the pandemic and the armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine.These conditions have set the stage for cascading crises that undermine the achievement of the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report Halfway to 2030 in Latin America and the Caribbean: progress and recommendations for acceleration1 shows that 27% of the targets are moving backwards and will not be met by 2030, and only 25% of them appear to be on course to be met by 2030. To counter this, the first step is to strengthen countries’ planning processes with a view to identifying ambitious public policies that would make it easier to focus public and private investment on strategic sectors that drive sustainable growth, knowledge, innovation, quality employment and gender equality and lower the carbon footprint.2 Secondly, States must engage in anticipatory governance, which involves anticipating social paradigms and possible changes in the environment, and exploring the future on a systematic and ongoing basis in order to adapt to it and shape it with the help of better, more sophisticated measures.3 Foresight for development facilitates anticipatory governance not only because it involves reflection on probable futures and the opportunity to shape and model them, but also because these probable futures are collectively constructed and owned by citizens.4 Applying foresight for development requires technical capacities in addition to convening power, negotiation skills and strategic planning, and also requires States to engage in joint leadership to anticipate change, strategically guide joint action in dialogue with stakeholders and coordinate public policies at all levels of government and the territory.