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The integration of Latin America has a history going back to
Spanish American Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...
and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian independence, when there was discussion of creating a regional
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
or
confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
of
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
n nations to protect the area's newly won autonomy. After several projects failed, the issue was not taken up again until the late 19th century, but now centered on the issue of
international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...
and with a sense of
pan-Americanism Pan-Americanism is a movement that seeks to create, encourage, and organize relationships, associations and cooperation among the states of the Americas, through diplomatic, political, economic, and social means. History Following the indepen ...
, owing to the United States of America taking a leading role in the project. The idea of granting these organizations a primarily
political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
purpose did not become prominent again until the post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
period, which saw both the start of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
and a climate of international cooperation that led to the creation of institutions such as the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. It would not be until the mid-20th century that uniquely Latin American organizations were created.


19th-century precedents

At the end of the
wars of independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...
(1808–1825), many new
sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...
states emerged in the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
from the former
Spanish colonies The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
. The
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
n independence leader
Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...
envisioned various unions that would ensure the independence of
Spanish America Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' Spanish Empire, imperial era between 15th century, 15th ...
vis-à-vis the European powers—in particular the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
—and the expanding United States. Already in his 1815
Cartagena Manifesto The Cartagena Manifesto was written by Simón Bolívar during the Colombia#Independence from Spain, Colombian and Venezuelan War of Independence, after the fall of the First Republic of Venezuela, First Republic, explaining what he believed to be t ...
, Bolívar advocated that the Spanish American provinces should present a united front to the Spanish in order to prevent their being re-conquered piecemeal, though he did not yet propose a political union of any kind. During the wars of independence, the fight against Spain was marked by only an incipient sense of
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
. It was unclear what the new states that replaced the
Spanish monarchy , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
should be. Most of those who fought for independence identified with both their birth provinces and Spanish America as a whole, both of which they referred to as their ''
patria Patria may refer to: Entertainment * Patria (novel), a 2016 novel by Spanish writer Fernando Aramburu * Patria (TV series), a 2020 limited television series, based on the novel * ''Patria'' (serial), a 1917 American serial film Music * "Pátri ...
'', a term which incorporates meanings contained today in the English words "
fatherland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...
" and "
homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...
". As Bolívar made advances against royalist forces, he began to propose the creation of various large states and confederations, inspired by
Francisco de Miranda Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spani ...
's idea of an independent state consisting of all of Spanish America, which Miranda variously called "Colombia", the "American Empire" or the "American Federation". In 1819, Bolívar was able to successfully create a nation called "Colombia" (today referred to as
Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), or Greater Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 18 ...
) out of several Spanish American provinces; in 1825, he proposed joining it to
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
and
Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...
in a confederation or state that he suggested be called the "Bolivian Federation" or "Bolivian Union" and which historians refer to as the "Andean Confederation", but this never came about. Other large states that emerged from the disintegration of the Spanish Monarchy also failed to prove long-lived. The
Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...
, created out of the former
Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala ( es, Capitanía General de Guatemala), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala ( es, Reino de Guatemala), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central A ...
, ceased to exist in 1840. The
United Provinces of South America United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
was never viable and suffered from nearly constant civil war between its provinces and the capital,
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
.
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
would not become united until the 1850s. The 1836 attempt to reunite the key regions of the former
Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed from ...
in a Peru-Bolivian Confederation fell apart after three years. Only
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, which consisted of the core areas of the
Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Amer ...
remained as a physically large state in Latin America. The other regional exception was the
Kingdom of Brazil The Kingdom of Brazil ( pt, Reino do Brasil) was a constituent kingdom of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves. Creation The legal entity of the Kingdom of Brazil was created by a law issued by Prince Regent John of Portu ...
, which declared independence in 1822 as the
Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pe ...
after the Portuguese demanded the return of the Portuguese king and court from
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
. Bolívar also proposed a separate league of the newly independent Spanish American republics, and to this end organized the Amphictyonic Congress or the
Congress of Panama The Congress of Panama (also referred to as the Amphictyonic Congress, in homage to the Amphictyonic League of Ancient Greece) was a congress organized by Simón Bolívar in 1826 with the goal of bringing together the new republics of Latin Americ ...
in 1826. Bolívar did not invite Brazil, since it was a monarchy and he saw it as a threat to the new republics' existence, nor did he invite the government at Buenos Aires, since the region lacked any real political unity to effectively be represented. Only after pressure was placed on him was the United States invited to the congress, but one representative died ''en route'' and the other arrived after deliberations were concluded. The United Kingdom was present only as an observer. The congress did draft a "Treaty of Union, League, and Perpetual Confederation", a pact of mutual defense and commerce, but only Gran Colombia ratified it. Gran Colombia itself fell apart in 1830. Because of these failed projects, Latin American politicians often speak of regional integration as "Bolivar's dream". Sixty-three years after the Amphictyonic Congress, a
secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...
, the Commercial Bureau of the American Republics, was created by eighteen American nations in 1889 at the First Pan-American Conference to promote trade in the western hemisphere. The Commercial Bureau began functioning on 14 April 1890. The bureau was renamed the International Commercial Bureau at the Second International Conference of 1901–1902. At the Fourth Pan-American Conference in 1910, the name of the organization was changed to the Union of American Republics and the International Commercial Bureau became the
Pan American Union The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
.


20th century

The experience of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
convinced hemispheric governments that unilateral action by one nation could not ensure the territorial integrity of the American nations in the event of extra-continental aggression, in particular
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
or
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
incursions. To meet the challenges of global conflict in the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
period and to contain conflicts within the hemisphere, they adopted a system of
collective security Collective security can be understood as a security arrangement, political, regional, or global, in which each state in the system accepts that the security of one is the concern of all, and therefore commits to a collective response to threats t ...
, the
Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (commonly known as the Rio Treaty, the Rio Pact, the Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, or by the Spanish-language acronym TIAR from ''Tratado Interamericano de Asistencia Recíproca'') is an agreem ...
, popularly known as the Rio Treaty, in 1947. The following year, at the Ninth International Conference of American States, headed by
U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...
, twenty-one member states pledged to fight communism in the Americas, and transformed the Pan American Union into the
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
(OAS). The transition was smooth. The Director General of the Pan American Union,
Alberto Lleras Camargo Alberto Lleras Camargo (3 July 1906 – 4 January 1990) was the 20th President of Colombia (1958–1962), and the 1st Secretary General of the Organization of American States (1948–1954). A journalist and liberal party politician, he also ser ...
, became the OAS's first
Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
and the organization began functioning in December 1951. By the late twentieth century, many Latin American leaders saw a need for an alternative organization that was not dominated by the United States. The experience of dealing with the 1970s and 1980s communist insurgencies in
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
through the creation of the Contadora Group, which did not include the United States, inspired the creation of the
Rio Group The Rio Group (G-Rio) was a permanent association of political consultation of Latin America and Caribbean countries, created in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on December 18, 1986 with the purpose of creating a better political relationship among the cou ...
in 1986. The Rio Group did not create a secretariat or permanent body and instead chose to rely on yearly summits of heads of states. Latin America also reached out to Europe, in particular its former colonial mother countries, to create other regional organizations based around common languages and cultures. In 1991 the governments of
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and Spain organized the First Ibero-American Summits of Heads of State and Governments in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
, Mexico. The result was the creation of the
Iberoamerican Community of Nations The Ibero-American Summit, formally the Ibero-American Conference of Heads of State and Governments ( es, Cumbres Iberoamericanas de Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno, pt, Cimeiras (or Cúpulas) Ibero-Americanas de Chefes de Estado e de Governo), is ...
, which holds yearly summits of its heads of state.


Latin American organizations

Trade, not politics, also served as the principal issue around which various, uniquely Latin American regional organizations were formed. On 14 October 1951, the governments of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua signed a new treaty creating the
Organization of Central American States An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...
''(Organización de Estados Centroamericanos'', or ''ODECA)'' to promote regional cooperation, integration and unity in Central America. This led to the creation of the
Central American Common Market The Central American Integration System ( es, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spa ...
, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, and the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) nine years later on 13 December 1960. Other regional
trade bloc A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where barriers to trade (tariffs and others) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states. Trade blocs can be stand-alon ...
s were also established in this period. The Latin American Free Trade Association (ALALC) was formed by the 1960 Treaty of Montevideo, which was signed by Argentina, Brazil,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, Mexico,
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
, Peru, and
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. The signatories hoped to create a common market in Latin America and offered tariff rebates among member nations. Its main goal was to eliminate all duties and restrictions on the majority of their trade within a twelve-year period. ALALC came into effect on 2 January 1962. Inspired by the
European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the ...
, in 1980 the ALALC was transformed into the
Latin American Integration Association The Latin American Integration Association / Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración / Associação Latino-Americana de Integração (LAIA / ALADI) is an international and regional scope organization. It was created on 12 August 1980 by the ...
(ALADI) by the second Treaty of Montevideo to pursue the more ambitious goal of improving the economic and social development of the region through the establishment of the common market. In 1969 the Andean Pact was founded by Chile,
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, Peru,
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
and
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. In 1973, the pact gained its sixth member,
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. In 1976, however, its membership was again reduced to five when Chile withdrew. Venezuela announced its withdrawal in 2006, reducing the Andean Community to four member states. The name of the organization was changed to the
Andean Community of Nations The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S l ...
(CAN) in 1996. In 1985 the presidents of Argentina and Brazil signed the Argentina-Brazil Integration and Economics Cooperation Program. This eventually led to the founding of
Mercosur The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Argentina ...
by Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina in 1991 to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency. Venezuela joined Mercosur in 2012Venezuela officially welcomed into Mercosur trade bloc during ceremony in Brazil (31 July 2012)
Reuters. Retrieved on 1 August 2012
and Bolivia is an acceding member. In 1995 Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela created the G3 Free Trade Agreement. Venezuela left the G3 in 2006 at the same time it left the CAN. In addition to these trade organizations, several
parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
organizations have been created. Mercosur agreed in December 2004 to create a
Mercosur Parliament The Mercosur Parliament ( es, link=no, Parlamento del Mercosur, pt, Parlamento do Mercosul), known also as Parlasur, or Parlasul, is the parliamentary institution of the Mercosur trade bloc. It is composed of 81 MPs, 18 from each member states ...
, which should begin functioning in 2010. A
Latin American Parliament The Latin American Parliament (''Parlatino'') is a regional, permanent organization composed by the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a consultative assembly similar to the early European Parliament. Currently the institution ...
was created in 1987, which is located in
Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...
. In December 2004 Mercosur and the Andean Community of Nations signed a reciprocal associate-member status agreement and issued the
Cusco Declaration The Cusco Declaration, formally titled Preamble to the Foundation Act of the South American Union, is a two-page declaration of intent signed by 12 South American countries during the Third South American Summit on 8 December 2004 in Cusco, Pe ...
stating that they would create a political South American Community of Nations. The Declaration purposely invoked "Bolívar's dream," noting that it would be partially realizing his vision of uniting Latin America. The original name of the union was changed to the current one, the
Union of South American Nations The Union of South American Nations (USAN; es, links=no, Unión de Naciones Suramericanas, UNASUR; pt, links=no, União de Nações Sul-Americanas, UNASUL; nl, links=no, Unie van Zuid-Amerikaanse Naties, UZAN; French: ''Union des nations s ...
in April 2007. The
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
(CELAC) created in 2010 is an example of a decade-long push for deeper integration within Latin America without United States and Canada. CELAC was created to deepen Latin American integration and by some to reduce the significant influence of the United States on the politics and economics of Latin America. It is seen as an alternative to the Organization of American States (OAS), the regional body that was founded by United States and 21 other Latin American nations originally as a countermeasure to potential Soviet influence in the region. Following the 2011 ''Declaration de Lima'', the
Pacific Alliance The Pacific Alliance ( es, link=no, Alianza del Pacífico) is a Latin American trade bloc, formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, which all border the Pacific Ocean. The alliance was formed with the express purpose of improving regional in ...
was established in 2012 by the founding members Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. , Costa Rica is in the process of joining. While membership is currently exclusively Latin American, a potential membership application by Canada is being considered favorably by some. In 2021 and 2022,
Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mexico ...
, president of
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, advocated for a regional union, comprising the nations of the Americas, resembling the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.


Organization membership

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Public support

Public support for Latin American integration is generally high but has been declining in many South and Central American countries over time. According to one study based on
Latinobarómetro Latinobarómetro Corporation is a private non-profit organization, based in Providencia, Chile. It is responsible for carrying out Latinobarómetro, an annual public opinion survey that involves some 20,000 interviews in 18 Latin American countrie ...
data, 73% of Latin Americans support economic integration and 63% support political integration in Latin America. It was also found that in most Latin American countries (twelve out of seventeen), support for economic integration was lower in 2010 than in 1997 and support for political integration decreased in nearly all countries (14 out of 17) between 2002 and 2010. Support for economic and political integration is higher among men than among women and increases with educational level. Coinciding with the shift to the left in Latin American politics (
pink tide The pink tide ( es, marea rosa, pt, onda rosa, french: marée rose), or the turn to the left ( es, giro a la izquierda, link=no, pt, volta à esquerda, link=no, french: tournant à gauche, link=no), is a political wave and perception of a tur ...
), the political left surpassed the right and, at least in the case of support for political integration, also the center, to become the political wing favoring integration most highly. That trend is a divergence from the picture found in Europe for support of European integration, which is generally highest among the political center.


See also

*
Antillean Confederation The Antillean Confederation was the vehement idea of Ramón Emeterio Betances about the need for natives of the Caribbean to unite into a regional entity that would seek to preserve the sovereignty and well-being of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, ...
*
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
*
European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
*
Organization of Ibero-American States The Organization of Ibero-American States ( es, Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos, pt, Organização de Estados Iberoamericanos, ca, Organització d'Estats Iberoamericans; abbreviated as OEI), formally the Organization of Ibero-American ...
*
Panhispanism Panhispanism (Spanish: ''panhispanismo'') (usually just called "hispanism" (Spanish: ''hispanismo'')) is a political trend aimed to achieve social, economic, and political cooperation, as well as often political unification, of the Spanish-speaki ...
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Pan-Americanism Pan-Americanism is a movement that seeks to create, encourage, and organize relationships, associations and cooperation among the states of the Americas, through diplomatic, political, economic, and social means. History Following the indepen ...
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Pan-Latinism Pan-Latinism is an ideology that promotes the unification of the Romance-speaking peoples. Pan-Latinism first arose in prominence in France particularly from the influence of Michel Chevalier (1806–1879) who contrasted the "Latin" peoples of the ...
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Patria Grande The ''Patria Grande'' (, Spanish for "Great Fatherland" or "Great Homeland") is the concept of a shared homeland or community encompassing all of Spanish America, and sometimes all of Latin America and the Caribbean. The term is associated with ...
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Regional integration Regional Integration is a process in which neighboring countries enter into an agreement in order to upgrade cooperation through common institutions and rules. The objectives of the agreement could range from economic to political to enviro ...


Bibliography

* Rivera, Salvador. Latin American Unification: A History of Political and Economic Integration Efforts''. North Carolina: McFarland Press, 2014. * Rivera, Salvador. "Jacob K. Javits and Latin American Economic Integration". ''Cuaderno de Negocios Internacionales e Integración 13''. No. 64/65. July–December 2007.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latin American Integration History of South America History of North America Latin American studies Pan-Americanism Regionalism (international relations)