The author examines some of the basic postulates and initial accomplishments of DSM-III from a Latin American vantage point. The phenomenological approach taken by DSM-III has enjoyed a long and prestigious tradition in Latin America. The author cites some of the difficulties posed by the personality disorders section, the exclusion of cultural criteria and psychocultural syndromes, and the practical inapplicability of the axis IV and V specifications for Latin American patients. DSM-III, however, is a challenging stimulus for Latin American and Third World psychiatrists and a real test for the influence and consistency of American psychiatry across the world.