Chile and Latin America in a Globalized World

4. Latin America and “Open Regionalism”

16 Ignacio Walker 4 Latin America and “Open Regionalism” My third point for discussion — very briefly, because I want to move towards Asia and the Asia-Pacific, and trade-related issues — is about Latin America. Of course, Latin America is in our immediate neighbourhood, the geographical and political unit to which we belong. We are a part of Latin America and that is why it is a top priority of our foreign policy and thus we speak about “open regionalism”. “Regionalism” meaning that our foreign policy takes place from within the region, from within Latin America. But “open” regionalism, which means that it is not an exclusionary policy. That is why we are here in Asia, or dealing with Europe, North America, and so on. We have failed in Latin America to address the issue of an integration 17 scheme that may give some “voice” to our region in world politics. The fact of the matter is that Latin America is a non-issue in world politics and economics. Let me give you only one example as to why I say so. In the 1950s Latin America accounted for 12 per cent of international trade; in the 1970s it was 6 per cent, whereas today it is only 3 per cent. Let me give you another example: at the meeting of the World Economic Forum in January, there were all kinds of panels, conferences, and lectures related to different areas of the world, such as Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa. But Latin America was simply ignored, partly because we lack a scheme of integration. That is why I think that ASEAN, by putting together ten countries, notwithstanding its diversity, has done such an impressive job, or the European Union itself, or the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), among others. In short, we in Latin America are committed to stability and to democracy. Of course, as you know, it is not the most stable region in the world: since 1985, 14 presidents from the region have not ended their constitutional term. The positive side of this picture is that Latin America and “Open Regionalism” 18 Ignacio Walker this year we are having twelve elections — democratic elections — so electoral democracy is present in the region. There is a kind of strong legitimacy on democratic processes in spite of everything: of corruption, narco-traffic, political instability, ideological prejudice, among other evils. So, that is where we basically stand in Latin America: trying to bring about economic growth, political stability, and democratization within a region that is characterized by inequality, poverty, marginalization, and instability. ...