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ABSTRACT
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) represents the most dramatic regional departure from neoliberalism under Latin America’s pink tide, based on principles of anti-imperialism, mutual development, and barter exchange. Since 2015 however, trade and social programmes between member countries have deteriorated, while regional support for ALBA has declined. In order to account for the rise and relative fall of ALBA-TCP, this article mobilizes the theory of social property relations to trace the international, regional and national forces and structures that have shaped the development trajectory of the ALBA since its creation in 2004. It argues that ALBA’s characteristics are principally constituted through concrete class formations, struggles and institutional resolutions that shape the pattern of ALBA’s international relations. Ultimately, the contradictions of ALBA’s social base with its uneven insertion into the broader international division of labour has created a series of tensions and roadblocks.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Jeffery Webber for feedback on the initial draft of this paper, as well as the special issue editors for their comments and suggestions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 For a comprehensive overview on literature on the ALBA from 2004 to 2016, see Absell (Citation2018).
2 This approach follows previous work that analyzes how relations of power shape regional integration in Latin America, including: Gamble and Payne Citation1996; Fernández Jilberto and Mommen Citation1998; Niemann Citation2000; Hadjimichalis Citation2005; as well analyses of relations of power that shape ALBA in particular: Muhr Citation2011; Emerson Citation2013; Lubbock Citation2019.
3 See Carrión (Citation2018, p. 105) for a list of companies bought by ALBANISA and their relationship to the Ortega family.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Kristin Ciupa
Kristin Ciupa is Assistant Professor in Sociology and Social Studies at the University of Regina. Her research focuses on the political economy of development in Latin America and natural resource extraction.