A well-known finding in the happiness literature is that Latin Americans report, on average, high happiness. It is not only high, but higher than expected for their socioeconomic situation, as portrayed by commonly used indicators. High happiness in Latin America is a puzzle, and some scholars consider it a paradox, which calls for new and fresh research to understand high happiness in the region. In fact, the high-happiness-in-Latin-America phenomenon constitutes an excellent opportunity to further understand the drivers of happiness, as well as to highlight some drivers that have not received the attention they deserve. This paper argues, and empirically shows, that person-based interpersonal relationships are important in explaining people’s happiness, that they are abundant in Latin America, and that they are uncorrelated with income. In consequence, it is reasonable to observe high happiness in Latin America, as well as happiness that is higher than what would be predicted according to socioeconomic indicators. The empirical analyses are based on information from three high-happiness Latin American countries. Abundance and good quality of interpersonal relationships positively impact on affective and evaluative experiences of being well, as well as on life satisfaction. The Latin American phenomenon indicates that the interpersonal relationships people create and maintain in their journey of life are fundamental for their happiness. Person-based interpersonal relationships allow for the joint enjoyment of life.

幸福文献中的一个众所周知的发现是，拉丁美洲人的平均幸福感很高。正如常用指标所描述的那样，这一数字不仅很高，而且高于其社会经济状况的预期。拉丁美洲的高幸福感是一个谜，一些学者认为这是一个悖论，这需要新的研究来理解该地区的高幸福感。事实上，拉丁美洲的高幸福现象提供了一个绝佳的机会，可以进一步了解幸福的驱动因素，并突显一些尚未得到应有关注的驱动因素。本文认为，并通过实证表明，以人为本的人际关系对于解释人们的幸福感很重要，拉丁美洲的人际关系丰富，而且与收入不相关。因此，观察到拉丁美洲的高幸福感以及高于社会经济指标预测的幸福感是合理的。实证分析基于来自三个高幸福感拉丁美洲国家的信息。丰富和良好的人际关系对幸福的情感和评价体验以及生活满意度产生积极影响。拉丁美洲的现象表明，人们在人生旅途中建立和维持的人际关系是幸福的基础。以人为本的人际关系可以让我们共同享受生活。