This volume analyzes trade agreements in Latin America since the mid-1980s, and provides a theoretical framework that highlights the political-economic tradeoffs entailed in different trade strategies formulated and pursued by different countries in the region. It contains detailed, empirically grounded studies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and the Mercosur block as a whole.
This volume explores the policy dynamics, economic commitments and social impacts of the fast evolving Sino-LAC relations. China’s engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean has entered into an era of strategic transition. While China is committed to strengthening its economic and political ties with Latin America and the Caribbean, Latin America as a bloc is enthusiastically echoing China’s endeavor by diverting their focus toward the other side of the ocean. The transitional aspect of China-LAC ties is phenomenal, and is manifested not only in the accelerating momentum of trade, investment, and loan but also in the China-CELAC Forum mechanism that maps out an institutional framework for decades beyond. While Latin America is redefined as an emerging priority to the leadership in Beijing, what are the responses from Latin America and the United States? In this sense, experts from four continents provide local answers to this global question.
Over the last twenty years Latin America has seen a definitive movement toward civilian rule. Significant trade, fiscal, and monetary reforms have accompanied this shift, exposing previously state-led economies to the forces of the market. Despite persistent economic and political hardships, the combination of civilian regimes and market-based strategies has proved to be remarkably resilient and still dominates the region. This book focuses on the effects of market reforms on domestic politics in Latin America. While considering civilian rule as a constant, the book examines and compares domestic political responses in six countries that embraced similar packages of reforms in the 1980s—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. The contributors focus on how ambitious measures such as liberalization, privatization, and deregulation yielded mixed results in these countries and in doing so they identify three main patterns of political economic adjustment. In Argentina and Chile, the implementation of market reforms has gone hand in hand with increasingly competitive politics. In Brazil and Mexico, market reforms helped to catalyze transitions from entrenched authoritarian rule. Finally, in Peru and Venezuela, traditional political systems have collapsed and civilian rule has been repeatedly challenged. The contributors include Carol Wise (University of Southern California), Karen L. Remmer (Duke University), Carol Graham (Brookings Institution), Stefano Pettinato (United Nations Development Programme), Consuelo Cruz (Tufts University), Juan E. Corradi (New York University), Delia M. Boylan (Chicago Public Radio), Riordan Roett (Johns Hopkins University), Martín Tanaka (Institute for Peruvian Studies, Lima), and Kenneth M. Roberts (University of New Mexico).
Trade agreements have uncontested relevance as essential instruments governing international trade, yet little attention has been directed towards explaining differences in their content. Deep Integration in Latin American Trade Agreements analyzes the structure, nature, and characteristics of deep integration in trade agreements established by Latin American countries after the crises of 1982 and until 2020 with their regional and extra-regional partners. Ninfa M. Fuentes-Sosa argues that deep integration can be disaggregated into its institutional, operative, and horizontal dimensions (which differ regarding their functions and application level). Empirically, she demonstrates that trade provisions can be mapped, measured, and allocated into their corresponding dimension, providing an understanding of the deep integration structure in Latin America. She claims that the current structure poses challenges for deepening regionalism at a broad scale. Countries working on specific areas over time could diminish obstacles that have prevented them from achieving deeper trade integration. Providing an operational definition and measures of deep integration, this book will be of great interest to scholars, graduate students, and policymakers working in the field of international political economy, trade, and trade politics.
Latin America is a diverse group countries with extremely diverse economies and political dynamics. Some are heavy in poverty and others are booming with petrodollars. They speak Spanish, Portuguese, and French. This book brings together analyses detailing crucial issues at the beginning of the 21st century.
"Through exhaustive field research and interviews, Ellis inventories, country by country, China's rapidly expanding commercial and diplomatic presence in Latin America and the Caribbean. The irresistible allure of trade with the Chinese is a mixed blessing for the region: to transport raw materials and agricultural goods, a new East-West infrastructure is expanding Pacific coast ports from Mexico to Chile, once again leaving Latin America overly dependent on the export of low-value-added commodities. And although China's motives may be primarily commercial, the implications of its incursions are geopolitical: visiting Chinese leaders have declared Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela to be "strategic partners." As Ellis documents, China is investing heavily in Venezuelan crude oil, despite worries over Hugo Chávez's volatility and fears of embroiling itself in disputes between Caracas and Washington. China - together with illiberal petrostates - is a vital backstop for Chávez's authoritarian populist project and unrelenting drive to undercut U.S. interests and influence in the region. Inexplicably, Foggy Bottom has seemed largely oblivious to this concerted geopolitical challenge so close to home." -- www.foreignaffairs.com (Oct.15, 2010).
This interdisciplinary edited volume explores the political economy of regionalism in Latin America. It identifies convergent forces which have existed in the region since its very conception and analyses these dynamics in their different historical, geographic and structural contexts. Particular attention is paid to key countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, as well as subregions like the Southern Cone and Central America. To understand the resilience of regionalism in Latin America, this book proposes to highlight four main issues. Firstly, that resilience is linked to mechanisms of self-enforcement that are part of the accumulation of experiences, institution building and common cultural features described in this book as regionalist acquis. Secondly, the elements and driving forces behind the promotion and expression of the regionalist acquis are influenced and shaped by nested systems in which social processes are inserted. Thirdly, when looking at systems, there is a particular influence by national and global ones, which condition the form and endurance of regional projects. Finally, beyond systems, the book highlights the relevance of agents as crucial players in the shaping of the resilience of regionalism in Latin America. This insightful collection will appeal to advanced students and researchers in international economics, international relations, international political economy, economic history and Latin American studies.
Economic ties between Asia and Latin America are growing as a part of a global shift toward more South–South cooperation. Yet trade costs remain high, which may impede future interregional trade and integration. Furthermore, an emerging trans-Pacific trade architecture based on free trade agreements (FTAs) carries risks of a noodle bowl effect. This book examines new frontiers in Asia–Latin America integration through interregional comparative studies in three key areas: trade facilitation, logistics, and infrastructure; production networks, supply chains, and small and medium-sized enterprises; and FTAs. The chapters contributed by Asian, Latin American, and international experts provide new insights on regional integration, impediments, and policy issues.
A comprehensive and accessible overview of the economic history of Latin America over the two centuries since Independence. It considers its principal problems and the main policy trends and covers external trade, economic growth, and inequality.
Brazil is located in the east coast of the South America, by Atlantic Ocean. With its area of 8,511,965 km2, constitutes one of biggest countries of the world in territorial extension. It possesses vast natural water holds; the biggest forest of the land; and flora, fauna, air, land, minerals and waters of inestimable value for the planet. It possesses around 169 million inhabitants, distributed in 26 States and a Federal District, where it is locates Brasilia capital. Brazil has a Gross Internal Product (GIP) close to USS 800 billion, and the per capita GIP is close to USS 4,719.76. It has the biggest economy of Latin America, and well developed sectors in the area of agriculture, industry, commerce and jobs. In agriculture, it is distinguished by the coffee production, soy, rice, meat, sugar cane, citric, cocoa. Its industrial park is distinguished by the production of chemical, shoes products, cement, iron, steel, airplanes, engines and automobiles, buses, machines, implements and equipment. It exports and imports around USS 50 billion per year; it has around 50 million television sets, 40 million fixed and cellular telephones, 70 million radios. This new book presents important analyses of this dynamic country.