Regional Integration and Cooperation in Latin America

Abstract

Initiatives built around what is known as “political concertation,” whose theoretical basis is the so-called “post-neoliberal integration,” have pushed the integration process into a permanent headlong rush forwards. This analysis aims to present a general diagnosis of the integration process and describe the short- and long-term options for interregional cooperation. Cooperation in different spheres could be a useful option until a solution is found to the current issues among the various players involved—the Andean Community (CAN) and Mercosur within Unsar, and Mercosur and the Alliance of the Pacific. From this perspective, this article analyses the emergence of the Alliance in relation to its capacity to be, or to come to be, a catalyst for the future of integration. Its capacity to influence will largely depend on its possibilities of perpetuating itself in the future or of making some of its main objectives materialize. The article also discusses the future role of extra-regional players—traditional ones, such as the United States and the EU, and new ones, primarily China. From this perspective, the ongoing regional free-trade mega-negotiations of the TransPacific Partnership (TTP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) introduce a new range of challenges to the region as a whole and to each of its constituent countries. The Latin American economies’ presence in the global value chains and the weight of interregional trade will be heavily affected. Finally, this article analyses the role of infrastructure in the integration process. In this regard, as in others, it is important to bear in mind national interests, far more than any political affinities between the various governments, in the search for increased bilateral relations and regional cooperation.