Latin America and the building of regional public goods

• In Event: Latin America's Regional Integration

Abstract

The announced goals of Latin American regionalism have undergone deep changes in the last decades. Whereas during the 1980s objectives were mostly linked to the democratic turn and international recognition, in the 1990s the point was to build free markets in the context of neoliberal economic policies. In the 2000s, left-wing forces in government announced institutional measures in order to reinforce the political dimension of integration. None of these attempts were completely achieved. Why thus authorities and citizens still talk about regional projects in Latin America, such as Unasur and CELAC? This paper argues Latin American regionalism has not failed, but has managed to reinvent itself over the years. In the 2010s, cooperation seems to be the main character of the regional dialogue. Latin American states recognize their complementarity in several fields even if economic integration is limited and there are no intentions of establishing supranational competences. This exploratory paper seeks to map and analyze sectors in which regional cooperation is been launched or solidified. The point is to understand who are the central actors leading the initiatives and what is their potential in creating regional public goods. This analysis may confirm the hypothesis according to which Latin American regionalism nowadays is taking the form of transnational public policies with social and innovative content.

Author

• Clarissa F Dri, Federal University of Santa Catarina