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SIGNATURE MICHAEL PIGNATARO
TITLE CFO
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000862599
<NAME> THE LATIN AMERICA INVESTMENT FUND, INC.
<S> <C>
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<PERIOD-START> JAN-01-1996
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<Body Text>
<Body Text>
<Body Text>
<Body Text>
<Body Text>REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
<Body Text>
<Body Text>
<Body Text>To the Board of Directors of
<Body Text> The Latin America Investment Fund, Inc.:
<Body Text>
<Body Text>In planning and performing our audit of the financial
statements and financial highlights of The Latin America
Investment Fund, Inc. for the year ended December 31, 1996, we
considered its internal control structure, including procedures
for safeguarding securities, in order to determine our auditing
procedures for the purpose of expressing our opinion on the
financial statements and financial highlights and to comply with
the requirements of Form N-SAR, not to provide assurance on the
internal control structure.
<Body Text>
<Body Text>The management of The Latin America Investment Fund,
Inc. is responsible for establishing and maintaining an internal
control structure. In fulfilling this responsibility, estimates
and judgments by management are required to assess the expected
benefits and related costs of internal control structure
policies and procedures. Two of the objectives of an internal
control structure are to provide management with reasonable, but
not absolute, assurance that assets are safeguarded against loss
from unauthorized use or disposition and that transactions are
executed in accordance with management's authorization and
recorded properly to permit preparation of financial statements
in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.
<Body Text>
<Body Text>Because of inherent limitations in any internal
control structure, errors or irregularities may occur and not be
detected. Also, projection of any evaluation of the structure
to future periods is subject to the risk that it may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the
effectiveness of the design and operation may deteriorate.
<Body Text>
<Body Text>Our consideration of the internal control structure
would not necessarily disclose all matters in the internal
control structure that might be material weaknesses under
standards established by the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants. A material weakness is a condition in which
the design or operation of the specific internal control
structure elements does not reduce to a relatively low level the
risk that errors or irregularities in amounts that would be
material in relation to the financial statements and financial
highlights being audited may occur and not be detected within a
timely period by employees in the normal course of performing
their assigned functions. However, we noted no matters
involving the internal control structure, including procedures
for safeguarding securities, that we consider to be material
weaknesses, as defined above, as of December 31, 1996.
<Body Text>
<Body Text>This report is intended solely for the information
and use of management and the Board of Directors of The Latin
America Investment Fund, Inc. and the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
<Body Text>
<Body Text>
<Body Text>
<Body Text>COOPERS & LYBRAND L.L.P.
<Body Text>2400 Eleven Penn Center
<Body Text>Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
<Body Text>February 21, 1997
