States of Sovereignty and Regional Integration in the Andes

Abstract

The trajectory of trade negotiations between the European Union and the Comunidad Andina de Naciones can be seen as an expression of the contemporary character of dependency between the two regions and of the conflict between competing strategies of integration within the Andean region itself. The first strategy reinforces current patterns of accumulation in the area of three "strategic openings" (primary and raw materials, services, and the state), the expansion of rights for Northern investors, and the state violence that has accompanied the internationalization of Colombian and Peruvian capital over the past few years. The second strategy, while mired in the class-based constraints that accompanied earlier experiments with "inward-looking development," positions regional integration as an alternative to neoliberalism and integration with Northern blocs dominated by imperialist interests.

La Alianza del Pacífico: nuevas lógicas de la integración regional, los giros políticos y la geopolítica latinoamericana

“…En esta perspectiva, la integración regional se promueve desde las alianzas Sur-Sur como la mejor alternativa a las propuestas integracionistas del nuevo regionalismo y al liderazgo hegemónico de los Estados Unidos en América Latina. La integración regional como un proceso de cooperación entre los países de América Latina, se ha sustentado en el discurso de la simetría de poderes, del respeto a la soberanía como parte de las afirmaciones de la autonomía del continente frente a las grandes potencias y al dominio de los países del Norte global (Latimer, 2012). En otros términos, es una integración ya no pensada solamente desde objetivos económico-comerciales, sino sobre todo sociales y políticos.…”

“…En síntesis, se puede afirmar que en las últimas décadas han prevalecido dos modelos o discursos sobre los procesos de integración regional en América Latina. Uno que legitima la apertura neoliberal a través de la desregularización y la libre competencia en el mercado internacional mediante la articulación con aliados económicos fuertes, y otro, que fomenta las alianzas regionales como parte del esfuerzo de recuperación del potencial económico y político del continente bajo la premisa de la independencia de las potencias mundiales (Latimer, 2012;Girault, 2009). Detrás de los propósitos de la integración económica, este último modelo promueve la profundización de las agendas comunitarias, un debate sobre la inserción estratégica de la región en el sistema-mundo (Wallerstein, 1979), y la importancia sobre la alineación estratégica del continente en torno a valores tales como: la autonomía, la autodeterminación y la emancipación.…”

EU Foreign Policy towards Latin America

“…However, the regional integration did not advance and Andean countries were aware that the GSP did not offer a very attractive medium or long term outlook for their economies . From the EU perspective, there are three elements that led the negotiation of the bilateral agreements: first, securing broad access to the Andean region's raw materials and natural and energy resources through trade facilitation; second, opening the Andean trade in services; and third, limiting the capacity of Andean states to regulate European corporations (Latimer 2012). Cienfuegos (2010) also includes as part of the European rationale for an association agreement the increasing US influence through its FTAs with Colombia and Peru, and the prospects of a stronger ALBA-TCP.…”

The Political Economy of Foreign Investment in Latin America

“…With the more democratically representative branches of the liberal state subordinated to the executive, sectors are marked as illegitimate political actors and their political expression delegitimized, isolated, and criminalized while multinationals are guaranteed privileged access and secure and high profits. Free-trade and investment agreements from the United States and, increasingly, the eU are crucial mechanisms in the new regime of accumulation (see Latimer, 2012).…”

“…The current policy implications in terms of international relations have become increasingly evident in the european commission's concerted advocacy of free-trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties in the interests of eU-based corporations. The unfolding of the eU strategy and the way it has affected the division between the Andean countries is detailed by Latimer (2012). Latimer shows that many investment treaties are already in place and that, its pretensions to a more developmental ethos notwithstanding, the eU's agenda has in practice proceeded "in lockstep" with a U.S. strategy for recovering from the setback of losing the FTAA and is directed to isolating efforts at regional integration on Bolivarian terms.…”