Regional Integration in Latin America: Obstacles and Prospects

Tenorio, Esmeralda

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Regional Integration in Latin America: Obstacles and Prospects

Tenorio, Esmeralda

Abstract

More than a dozen regional organizations have formed within these past few decades which speaks to the conscious efforts made to integrate the region. Since gaining independence, Simon Bolivar’s dream for a united Latin America has become idealized. The region shares the same language, religion, and history yet efforts to create a common market have not been successful thus far. This thesis aims to analyze the reasons why there are no deeper levels of integration within the region. By breaking up the various attempts to create unions into separate eras, it will be easier to identify the change in paradigms and agendas over the past few decades. Furthermore, identifying the major reasons integration has been unsuccessful will shed light on the actions that could be taken in the future to ensure states are more committed to the process. Given the rapid growth of globalization, economies are more intertwined than ever and forming regional organizations could potentially be beneficial. While this thesis does not aim to claim that integration is a positive or negative thing, there have been efforts to integrate within Latin America for decades which means it is on the region’s agenda.