LATIN AMERICA ON THE WORLD STAGE- STILL A LONG WAY TO GO!

Political and economic integration schemes have long been a staple of Latin American foreign policy. But changes in the regional and global economy since the early 2000s have created new incentives for the reform of global governance mechanisms to reflect the new constellations of political and economic power. South American countries benefited from soaring Chinese demand for commodities, energy and agricultural products, put their fiscal houses in order after years of painful adjustment, and implemented social programs that lifted tens of millions of people out of poverty and reduced inequality.

While the prediction may be premature and exaggerated, by 2010 Latin America and Asia were the two powerhouses of the world economy. Commercial relations had deepened with China, India, South Korea and others.

Although three Latin American countries (Mexico, Brazil and Argentina) are now included in the G20, other global governance reform efforts have been frustrated. As a result, South-South contacts and consultation mechanisms have proliferated, a trend that will continue unless existing institutions are able to adapt. At the political level, however, there is much disagreement over what norms and procedures will govern international behaviour, let alone who will bear the responsibility and costs of upholding them.  The region has not been able to act with strength and common purpose in world affairs. Its influence, therefore, has been and most likely will continue to be limited in decision-making processes concerning the great challenges facing the world.   Fragmentation is a permanent and seemingly insurmountable feature of Latin America. Even though there is a process of building a regional bloc among Latin American and Caribbean countries, the tensions and divisions within the region are pervasive and difficult to overcome. Some countries are more integrated, economically, politically and socially with the United States, while others have a more antagonistic position toward the U.S. and have strengthened relations with other parts of the world. Some countries, such as Brazil and Mexico compete to play a larger role in world affairs, but none has been able to exercise effective leadership within the region.

This does not mean that Latin America is irrelevant in world affairs; on the contrary its ever expanding economy, the success of some of its countries, and its capacity to establish relations with different parts of the world give Latin America an important place in the configuration of inter-regional and global affairs. Yet institution such as the OAS, Mercosur, ALBA, CELAC, the Alliance of the Pacific are weak, lack central direction and may be pulling part. Like development itself, Latin America’s greater independence and assertiveness may be a two or three generations project. Nor has Latin America quite decided whether its greater independence, primarily from the U.S., is ideological or based on national self-interest. In the absence of hemisphere-wide institutional coherence, it is the emerging countries of the area that mainly count: Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Peru. Meanwhile, Russia and Europe have declined in importance while East Asia, South Asia and Africa have increased. Where does Latin America, other than Brazil, fit into this shifting kaleidoscope? No one knows, not even in Latin America.

To be certain Latin America still faces important challenges as a region. While there has been notable progress in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Uruguay, there has also been a clear deterioration in institutions and policies in some important economies of the region, notably Argentina and Venezuela. As a result, Latin America today is a region split in two, reflecting a growing ideological and policy divide. Moreover, the region still faces important economic and social challenges ahead. As long as the divide continues to exist and large economies such as Argentina and Venezuela extend their populist model, the region will continue to struggle in its search for a common view that can be more influential in terms of economic policy, trade, diplomacy, and more generally, world affairs and global governance.

According to the Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index 2012 that assesses global wealth and well being and benchmark 142 countries around the world in 8 categories (economy, education, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance health, personal freedom, safety and security and social capital, here below is the ranking of Central American, Caribbean  and South American countries.

• Uruguay 21/142
• Chile 34/142
• Costa Rica 37/142
• Argentina 41/142
• Panama 42/142
• Brazil 44/142
• Trinidad and Tobago 51/142
• Mexico 61/142
• Jamaica 62/142
• Belize 65/142
• Paraguay 68/142
• Colombia 69/142
• Peru 72/142
• Venezuela 80/142
• Dominican Republican 81/142
• Nicaragua 91/142
• Bolivia 95/142
• Honduras 96/142
• Guatemala 97/142
• Haiti 138/142