RECENT POLITICAL TRENDS IN LATIN AMERICA

1
RECENT POLITICAL TRENDSIN LATIN AMERICA
2
OUTLINE

• Political and economic considerations
• Regional integration
• External role players
• Conclusion

3
POLITICAL AND ECONOMICCONSIDERATIONS

• Rise in election victories of left-leaning/progres
  sive governments
• Factors linked to the rise of left-leaning
  governments
• Categories of left-leaning governments

4
Political and economic considerations cont

• Examples
• Presidents such as
• Hugo Chavez (Venezuela)
• Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil)
• Evo Morales (Bolivia)
• Michelle Bachelet (Chile)
• Tabaré Vàzquez (Uruguay)

5
Political and economic considerations cont

• Factors linked to the rise of left-leaning
  governments
• Oppressive and corrupt governments
• Failure of military and subsequent governments to
  deliver on socio-economic policies
• Continuing Poverty

6
Political and economic considerations cont

• Inequality and social exclusion of the majority
  and indigenous people
• Wave of state democratisation
• Dissatisfaction with implementation of
  neo-liberal economic policies
• Resentment of the US domination of the region
• The need to reinforce autonomy from external
  influences

7
Political and economic considerations cont

• Categories of left-leaning governments
• First Category Leaders and movements that
  originated from communist and socialist ideology.
• Emphasis on social policies that include
  education, anti-poverty programmes, health and
  housing, amongst other things.
• Represented by Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Panama
  and Peru.

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Political and economic considerations cont

• Second Category considered nationalistic and
  populist in orientation.
• Prioritises the importance of national
  sovereignty and governments involvement in
  controlling state resources
• Represented by Bolivia and Venezuela

9
Regional integration

• Brazil is one of the leading countries in the
  region together with Argentina, Venezuela and
  Mexico.
• Countries have actively engaged in efforts to
  reduce economic and trade dependence from the US
  and the EU. There are different approaches in
  integration efforts.
• Challenges in integration efforts lie mostly on
  how to move the integration process forward.
• Challenges are attributed to contending country
  interests, principally between Brazil and
  Argentina.

10
Regional integration

• Integration is a very complex puzzle. In addition
  to Mercosur, CAN and SACN, there is the
  Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA).
• ALBA initiated and supported by President Chàvez
  .
• Notwithstanding differences, there is possibility
  for convergence between Mercosur, CAN, SACN and
  ALBA.

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External Role Players

• CHINA
• Pursuing robust policy towards Latin America.
• Interested in gaining access to mineral resources
  through trade and investment.
• INDIA
• Considered as a new emerging market with new
  opportunities.
• Relations not yet at the desired level but
  growing .
• Possibility to escalate economic relations into
  political alliances at
• multilateral forums.

12
External role players cont

• AFRICA
• Growing presence of the African countries in the
  region and vice versa.
• Brazil and Colombia have the largest number of
  African Diaspora.
• Developing cooperation between the two regions.

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Conclusion

• The emergence of progressive governments in Latin
  America signals the possibility of a shift in the
  global configuration of power, in favour of the
  South.
• This then has a potential to boost the
  advancement of certain common issues of the South
  at the multilateral fora.