(Apr. 14, 2008) Here are some of the big issues to follow this week around Latin America. The EU begins a visit to Bolivia Monday to help mediate in the conflict over the new national constitution; the lower eastern half of the country has threatened secession over the current draft. Ecuador and Colombia renewed the… Read More Latin America News Review
What are the relevant historic issues in Argentina’s foreign policy? The historic conditions of Argentina’s foreign policy can be divided into three groups; strategic, economic, and political. Strategically, Argentina has been preoccupied with containing Brazil and Chiles’ influence in the southern cone, Perú in the Northwest, settling border conflicts with Chile, and regaining sovereignty of… Read More Argentina’s Foreign Policy: Traditions
Our next several sections will focus on the national foreign policy goals of six South American nations; Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Our criteria for selecting these countries are as follows, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile were chosen because of their historical importance in regional balance of power politics. Venezuela was chosen because of… Read More South American Foreign Policy: Six Case Studies
Citation Becker, Marc. Indians and Leftists in the Making of Ecuador’s Modern Indigenous Movements. Durham: Duke University Press, 2008.
(Mar. 31, 2008) The last explanation we will analyze here is what we are referring to as the “Brazilian hegemonic” explanation. This position holds that Brazil, given the much larger size of its population, economy, and territory relative to the rest of the region, is the natural hegemon in South American regional affairs.[1] This position… Read More Historiography: Brazilian Hegemony in South America
(Mar. 29, 2008) There are several ways of approaching the question of South American integration; depending on which facet of society you choose to analyze you get a different answer. The most popular explanations are economic, historical/cultural, and Brazilian. The emphasis on economic explanations is succinctly explained by Vanden and Prevost who note, “In Latin… Read More Historiography: Economic Explanations of South American Integration
(Mar. 26, 2008)The decision to analyze the countries of South America as a regional subsystem of Latin America is based on the membership criteria of UNASUR itself. While it may be debatable that all of the territory southeast of Panama actually forms a single analytical subsystem, given that the region has opted for a union… Read More Definitions and Limitations I: Initial Assumptions on UNASUR
Geographically, South America refers to the territory located roughly between 12.5 degrees north and 56 degrees south latitude, and 34.5 east and 81.5 degrees west longitude, corresponding to the nations located southeast of Panama: Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. Physically it is bordered by the Caribbean Sea… Read More Definitions and Limitations II: Physical Borders
The broad geographic zones outlined in the last entry also correspond to the general separation of historic interests in South America. According to Atkins, the economic and political interests of the Caribbean states of Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname have been predominantly influenced by the hegemonic influence of the United States and their respective European… Read More Definitions and Limitations III: Regional and Extra-Regional Powers
The interplay of different cultures in South America is another important factor in analyzing regional politics. The interaction between European immigrants, Africans, and later on immigrants from all over the world with the indigenous communities already living there has created a unique social atmosphere of syncretism and conflict. A crude division can be made along… Read More Definitions and Limitations IV: Perceptions of Shared Identity in South America
(Mar. 26, 2008) In South American integration literature there is a puzzling divide between primary government sources and secondary analysis. On the one hand you have a series of regional declarations signed by the 12 presidents of South American nations stating their intent to form a new continental block. On the other hand you have… Read More Problematizing Regional Integration in South America: UNASUR in the 21st Century
(Mar. 24, 2008) The Colombian government announced Monday that the second man killed and removed during its attack on a FARC base camp in Ecuador territory was in fact Ecuadorian. The announcement seemed likely to trigger further diplomatic protests by Ecuador’s government after President Rafael Correa threatened to reopen the case last Saturday if he… Read More Ecuador Threatens More Diplomatic Problems with Colombia
Mar. 21, 2008) The March 28th meeting of South American heads of state has been cancelled because of ongoing disputes between Ecuador and Colombia. Leaders had planned to sign a foundational constitution establishing the institutional procedures for UNASUR, a new union composed of the 12 nations of South America. The cancellation was not a surprise… Read More Unasur Founding Summit Cancelled Over Minor Regional Conflict
By Nate GillMarch 21, 2008 (Southern Affairs) — The March 28th meeting of South American heads of state has been cancelled because of ongoing disputes between Ecuador and Colombia. Leaders had planned to sign a foundational constitution establishing the institutional procedures for UNASUR, a new union composed of the 12 nations of South America. The… Read More Unasur Founding Summit Cancelled Over Regional Conflict
(March 10, 2008) The crisis that erupted last week over Colombia’s bombing of a FARC base camp inside Ecuador seems to have come to an end. A political solution was reached between the region’s foreign ministers at the OAS special session while a more personal agreement was reached between the presidents of several Latin American… Read More Counting the Chips: Political Solution Reached Between Ecuador and Colombia
(March 5, 2008) On Sunday Colombia’s military bombed a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) military camp in Ecuadorian territory. The attack killed an estimated 23 rebel combatants, including FARC’s second in command, Luis Edgar Devia, a.k.a. Raúl Reyes, reportedly the first secretariat member to be killed in combat during more than 40 years of… Read More Colombian Attack Sets Off Unexpected Alarms Around South America
Peter Henderson’s Gabriel García Moreno and Conservative State Formation in the Andes, analyzes nineteenth-century debates over modernization and state formation during the administration of Ecuadorian President Gabriel Garcia Moreno, one of the country’s most controversial politicians. Henderson focuses on five major themes: the creation of political networks, regionalism, the liberal-conservative ideological divide, caudillismo, and perennial… Read More Gabriel García Moreno and Conservative State Formation in the Andes: Henderson
I’ve spent the last two months traveling in Ecuador and Peru conducting interviews for my graduate thesis. I will be publishing these interviews in the following order: Francisco Carrión, Foreign Minister of Ecuador (2003-2006); Benjamin Ortiz, Foreign Minister of Ecuador (1998-2000); Osvaldo Hurtado, President of Ecuador (1981-1984); Rodrigo Borja, President of Ecuador (1988-1992); Carlos Espinosa,… Read More Interviews
(Nov. 30, 2007) Without delay, Ecuador’s new Constitutional Assembly approved President Rafael Correa’s proposal to close the national congress until the assembly concludes its broad reorganization of the state in what officials are calling a “Citizen Revolution.” Ecuador is the third South American country to call a Constitutional Assembly this century, joining Venezuela and Bolivia… Read More 21st Century Socialists Turn Tables On Opposition
(Nov. 24, 2007) Argentina’s President Elect Cristina Kirchner distanced herself from the political agenda of Venezuela President Chávez on Monday by proposing a Mercosur-Israel free trade agreement (FTA) during her visit to Brazil. The proposal is a diplomatic counter punch to Venezuela’s open support for Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the OPEC meeting in Saudi… Read More Argentina Breaks With Venezuela Over Free Trade And Middle East
Guyana Foreign Minister Rudolph Insanally announced a temporary truce on Wednesday after Venezuela’s military blew up two Guyanese mining boats on a river near the international border. The attack took place on Nov. 15th and was part of a three day military operation, called Tepuy, to remove illegal miners from the Cuyuni River basin. Although… Read More South American Border Wars Slow Regional Integration
U.S. newspapers announced this week that Congress is expected to ratify a free trade agreement (FTA) with Peru before its Nov. recess. The FTA will eliminate 80 percent of U.S. export tariffs to Peru with the remaining 20 percent to be phased out over the next 10 years. While U.S. lawmakers argued over the inclusion… Read More What Does Peru’s FTA Mean For The Rest Of The Region?
In South American integration literature there exists a puzzling divide between primary government sources and secondary analysis. On the one hand you have a series of regional declarations signed by the 12 presidents of South American nations stating their intent to form a new continental block. On the other hand you have a public that… Read More Some Initial Questions: Unasur And Integration In South America
Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister, Nicolás Maduro, announced that the Nov. 3 meeting of the Banco del Sur will be postponed until Dec. 5th. Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela were supposed to have met next week to sign on as members of the new regional bank. No reasons were given for the postponement.… Read More Banco del Sur Postpones Signing Until December
Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa is full of good ideas this week. On his visit to Italy this week he is reported to have proposed that the UN publish a list of environmental terrorists whose reckless actions are putting the world in danger. He also agreed to let the US maintain its military base in Manta,… Read More ENVIRONMENTAL TERRORISTS AT LARGE IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva proposed the creation of a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between India, South Africa, and the nations of Mercosur at a reunion in Pretoria, South Africa on Wednesday Oct.17th. The proposed treaty would create the world’s largest free trade area and has been billed as a way to… Read More BRAZIL PROPOSES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA
The presidents of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador announced Friday Oct. 12th that new Ballenas-Maraciabo international pipeline will be extended across Colombia to create the first transoceanic pipeline on the continent. Speaking at the inauguration Friday, President Chavez said that plans were ready to connect the pipeline with Central America and the Andean countries of Ecuador,… Read More SOUTH AMERICAN GAS PIPELINE WILL CONNECT CARIBBEAN WITH PACIFIC OCEAN
By N. H. Gill (Oct. 10, 2007) – The human and environmental costs of increased infrastructure integration in South America was the topic of debate at the First Latin American Congress of National Parks and Other Protected Areas this week in Bariloche, Argentina. Scientists from around the world met to discuss the effects of the… Read More Scientists Worry About Human and Environmental Costs of Integration
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa was invited by Colombia and Venezuela to attend an upcoming meeting between their two presidents, Alvaro Uribe and Hugo Chavez to celebrate the opening of the new gas pipeline in the Colombian District of LaGuajira that connects the city of Ballenas with the Venezuelan city of Maracaibo. The Colombian Foreign Minister… Read More URIBE AND CHAVEZ INVITE CORREA TO LAUNCHING OF NEW PIPELINE
Brazil and Ecuador gave a combined press conference today announcing their intentions of joining the Banco del Sur, a new regional financial institution created by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Feb. 21, 2007 to replace institutions like the IMF and World Bank. The announcements come one week before a Brazilian sponsored summit in Rio de… Read More South America Announces New Banco del Sur
On Oct.4 Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim arrived in Ecuador to discuss potential areas of mutual interest with President Rafael Correa. The visit followed last Sunday’s national assembly elections that gave President Correa sweeping powers move forward his new socialist platform designed to reduce economic inequality and exploitation in Ecuador. The visit was also a… Read More UNASUR MAKING VERY SMALL WAVES
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa’s party appears to have won a sweeping victory in the new constitutional assembly on Sept. 30th giving his party, Acuerdo País (AP), broad powers to transform the nation’s legal system. According to unofficial exit polls the AP won 87.5 percent of the vote, with former President Lucio Gutierrez’s Sociedad Patriotica coming… Read More ECUADOR VOTES FOR NEW CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY
Ecuadorians go to the polls on Sept. 30th to decide who will draft and approve their new national constitution. Voters approved the creation of a Constitutional assembly in April this year after a sharply contested constitutional battle that pitted the executive and legislative branches against each other. Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa staked his presidential campaign… Read More ECUADOR VOTES FOR NEW NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
