Post-Liberal Regionalism in Latin America and the Influence of Hugo Chávez

Abstract

This article traces the shift in regional integration in Latin America from the ‘open regionalism’ of the 1990s to the current ‘post-hegemonic’ regionalism. We explore the contribution of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez in defining and promoting a distinctly new approach to the Latin American integration project. Chávez played a crucial role in the process by setting the agenda of integration and by pushing the boundaries of regional debate towards ideas, institutions and practices that initially seem radical but are often accepted through the passage of time. The article elaborates this thesis by exploring Chávez's role in constructing the political and economic architecture that has emerged in the region over the past decade. While not solely responsible for these developments, Chávez was a driving force, a fact with pertinent and uncertain consequences given his recent death troubles and the uncertainty over the future of Chavismo.

Keywords::

• Venezuela
• Chavez
• regional integration
• ALBA
• post-hegemonic regionalism

Notes

^1. See for example: Pia Riggirozzi and Diana Tussie (eds), The Rise of Post-Hegemonic Regionalism: the Case of Latin America, London, Springer, 2012; Jean Grugel and Pia Riggirozzi, 'Post-neoliberalism in Latin America: Rebuilding and Reclaiming the State After Crisis', Development and Change, 43:1, 2012, pp. 1-21.

^2. Marta Harnecker, Understanding the Venezuelan Revolution: Hugo Chávez Talks to Marta Harnecker, New York, Monthly Review Press, 2005, p. 121.

^3. Gian Luca Gardini, ‘Unity and Diversity in Latin American Visions of Regional Integration’, in Gian Luca Gardini and Peter Lambert (eds), Latin American Foreign Policies: Between Ideology and Pragmatism, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

^4. José Martí and Philip Sheldon Foner, Our America: Writings on Latin American and the Struggle for Cuban Independence, New York, Montly Review Press, 1977.

^5. Pia Riggirozzi, ‘Region, Regionness and Regionalism in Latin America: Towards a New Synthesis’, New Political Economy, 17:4, 2012, p. 7.

^6. Leslie Bethel, ‘Brazil and “Latin America”’, Journal of Latin American Studies, 42:3, 2010, pp. 465-66.

^7. Diana Tussie, ‘Latin America: Contrasting Motivations for Regional Projects’, Review of International Studies, 35: S1, 2009, p. 172.

^8. José Antonio Sanahuja, ‘Post-liberal Regionalism in South America: The Case of UNASUR’, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies EUI Working Papers, RSCAS 2012/5, 2012 http://ucm.academia.edu/JoseAntonioSanahuja, accessed 21 May 2012, p. 4.

^9. Pia Riggirozzi and Diana Tussie, ‘The Rise of Post-Hegemonic Regionalism in Latin America’, in Riggirozzi and Tussie (eds), The Rise of Post-Hegemonic Regionalism, p. 8.

^10. Sanahuja, ‘The Case of UNASUR’, p. 3.

^11. Ibid., p. 4.

^12. Ibid.

^13. Riggirozzi and Tussie, ‘Post-Hegemonic Regionalism in Latin America’.

^14. Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, ‘Construction of Equality among All Nations for a Multi-Polar World’, http://www.alba-tcp.org/en/contenido/political-achievements, accessed 15 May 2012.

^15. Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, ‘Construction of Equality among All Nations’.

^16. Comunidad Andina, ‘Cusco Declaration on the South American Community of Nations Third South American Presidential Summit’, http://www.comunidadandina.org/ingles/documentos/documents/cusco8-12-04.htm, accessed 21 May 2012.

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^18. Sanahuja, ‘The Case of UNASUR’.

^19. James Suggett, ‘South American Nations Form New Regional Grouping: UNASUR’, Venezuela Analysis, http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/3488, accessed 29 April 2012.

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^22. MercoPress, ‘Unasur Defence Council has to Protect the Region's Vast and Strategic Resources’, http://en.mercopress.com/2011/05/27/unasur-defence-council-has-to-protect-the-region-s-vast-and-strategic-resources, accessed 4 May 2012.

^23. John Lindsay-Poland, ‘Retreat to Colombia: The Pentagon Adapts Its Latin American Strategy’, NACLA Report on the Americas, 43:1, 2010, p. 23.

^24. Sanahuja, ‘The Case of UNASUR’, p. 19.

^25. Agencia Venezolana de Noticias, ‘Chavez: “UNASUR is our Armour against Barbarism”’, Venezuelan Analysis, http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/6585.

^26. El Universal, ‘Chávez Insists on Integration Mechanisms for Unasur’, http://www.eluniversal.com/2008/12/16/en_int_esp_chavez-insists-on-in_16A2169701.shtml, accessed 13 June 2012.

^27. Benjamin Dangl, ‘Out of the Backyard: New Latin American and Caribbean Bloc Defies Washington’, Venezuelan Analysis, http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/6680, accessed 15 May 2012.

^28. Sanahuja, ‘The Case of UNASUR’, p. 16.

^29. Mark Engler, ‘Latin America Banks on Independence’, In These Times, http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3497/latin_america_banks_on_independence/, accessed 15 May 2012.

^30. Barry Cannon, Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution: Populism and Democracy in a Globalised Age, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2009, p. 186.

^31. Daniel Hellinger, ‘Obama and the Bolivarian Agenda for the Americas’, Latin American Perspectives, 28:4, 2011, p. 56.

^32. Sanahuja, ‘The Case of UNASUR’, p. 17.

^33. Cannon, Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution, p. 187.

^34. Ibid.

^35. Sean Burges, ‘Building a Global Southern Coalition: the Competing Approaches of Brazil's Lula and Venezuela's Chávez’, Third World Quarterly, 28:7, 2007, p. 1347.

^36. Sanahuja, ‘The Case of UNASUR’, p. 15.

^37. Hellinger, ‘Obama and the Bolivarian Agenda for the Americas’, p. 53.

^38. Riggirozzi, ‘Regionalism in Latin America’, p. 14.

^39. Paul Kellogg, ‘Regional Integration in Latin America: Dawn of an Alternative to Neoliberalism?’, New Political Science, 29:2, 2007, p. 202.

^40. Jim Wyss, ‘ALBA Bloc of Nations to See New Members’, Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/05/2626962/alba-bloc-of-nations-to-see-new.html, accessed 16 May 2012.

^41. ALBA TV and Joao Pedro Stedile, ‘MST Leader: “Let's Build a People's ALBA’’,’ Venezuelan Analysis, http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/6790, accessed 14 May 2012.