Latin American countries saw an increase in public debt during the 2009 global financial crisis, but it's still lower than in past crises. The debt is now safer, with more domestic currency liabilities. However, there are still risks and challenges to address. Recent data shows that debt managers shouldn't be too confident that the region is out of the woods yet. One key issue is the lack of a large investor base for domestic currency debt with fixed rates and long maturities.