The Andean Pact and the Amazon Treaty: Reflections of Changing Latin American Relations

Abstract

The pattern of Latin American regional cooperation has changed greatly during the past five years. New organizations, such as SELA (Latin American Economic System) and OLADE (Latin American Energy Organization), have been formed, while other groups, such as CACM (Central American Common Market), have become moribund. These changes in regional organizations are primarily the result of changes occurring in the developmental orientations and governmental capabilities of the member governments. In this study, two quite different organizations, the Andean Pact and the Amazon Pact, are examined to shed light on the dynamics of contemporary Latin American international relations and to explore new theoretical approaches in the study of regional cooperation schemes.