Protocredits: Alianza del Pacífico

Early this month the presidents of the Pacific Alliance (PA) met in Lima, Peru for their regular yearly summit. The absence of the Mexican president overshadowed the XIV meeting and marked the first time in eight years that a president of the member states did not heed the call. A series of meetings by the ministerial councils and technical groups of the mechanism between 1 and 6 of July preceded the presidential gathering.

The outcomes of the presidential summit include a political Declaration in Support of the Multilateral Trading System that refers to the commitment of the members towards a rules-based system, their support to the World Trade Organization, and their rejection towards protectionist measures that have hindered global economic growth. Members also signed a Declaration for the Sustainable Management of Plastics stating their commitment to undertake specific initiatives to better management practices. Framework agreements for cooperation were concluded with Japan, the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

As customary with the early harvest approach the Pacific Alliance has followed since its inception, the presidents and ministries highlighted the progress of the integration. The works underscored include multiple events hosted under the PA umbrella, such as macro business round-tables, joint commercial and investment promotion activities, the delivery of technical studies and several meetings for the exchange of experiences and good practices. The outcomes also report efforts to reach harmonisation at the normative, operative and technological level.

National agencies in the state members have also signed memoranda of understanding for future inter-institutional cooperation. One of them is an interesting Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Good Governmental Practices and the Development of Cooperation Mechanisms for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption in Public Procurement Systems within the Pacific Alliance. This memorandum represents a typical example of the problem-based approach PA members have followed from the start in the definition of their practical agenda. An approach that seems reasonable, albeit it brings to question the extent to which the PA regional agenda would be able to deliver meaningful results on these broad agenda growing not only in size but also complexity.

Following, the launch of the 2030 Vision in 2018, the presidents celebrated the conclusion of a work plan to pursue the aims envisioned for a more integrated; more global, more connected; more citizen-oriented PA. So far, the scope of the work plan is still unknown since the document is not public, and it is not clear what input from the civil society and other stakeholders was received for its construction.

Moving forward, the presidents instructed the working groups with a long list of mandates to undertake activities in areas such as trade facilitation, SMEs; public procurement; financial integration; trade, investment and tourism promotion; regulatory cooperation; global value chains and productive linkages; innovation; services and capital; tourism, labour, education; gender; and culture just to mention a few.

However, a close examination of these mandates make it evident a need for more stringent monitoring mechanisms of the activities undertaken to accomplish them. Although it is clear that some of these mandates are far-reaching and could not be achieved in the short-term, a few questions arise from the practice of presidential mandates.

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The blog Shaping the Pacific Alliance is introducing a new feature that aims to contribute to the ongoing academic and non-academic research about the Pacific Alliance. The new feature is a library that encompasses more than 200 publications examining the Pacific Alliance. From books to journal articles, general articles and briefing papers, the library provides visitors with a substantive number of documents produced mainly in  Spanish and English.

Visitors will be able to research the publications through the general search engine. Users can also employ key terms to find the materials they are looking for. Publications can also be found by their type (eg journal article, working paper) and language. A research cloud depicting the most common terms used in the publications is also available on the right-hand side, at the bottom of the library page. In case you want to have a bit of fun with your research you can give it a go!. Continue reading

Abstract:
The Pacific Alliance (Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico) emerged as a new bloc in Latin America in April of 2011. Its members declared it to be an integration process to promote open regionalism and to deepen ties with the Asia-Pacific region – as it was stated in the Pacific Alliance Framework Agreement. From then on, the idea that the Pacific Alliance could constrain Mercosur was debated by the Academia, by both national and international media and also by Brazilian domestic agents.

At first, Brazil treated the impacts of the Pacific Alliance on Mercosur with some skepticism. This approach was mainly because Brazil believed that the Pacific Alliance could learn from the Mercosur experience, until 2014, when there was a Brazilian initiative to bring together Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance. Thereafter it has been an important topic in Brazilian foreign policy agenda.

This dissertation focuses on understanding this subject through Brazilian foreign policy, by highlighting how Brazil perceived the Pacific Alliance and what were the initiatives related to this bloc between 2011 and 2018. The research was based on a qualitative methodology and qualitative data to answer if the Pacific Alliance is conflicting or complementary to the Brazilian regional integration agenda.

The results elucidate the main Brazilian statements about the Pacific Alliance. It examines how the Pacific Alliance became an internal topic of discussion, which domestic agents and government agencies were involved in the decision-making process, what the differences were in their involvement. It primarily discusses the lines of continuity from one government to another supporting the hypothesis that the Pacific Alliance conflicts with the Brazilian agenda for regional integration.

Resumen:
La Alianza del Pacífico (Chile, Colombia, Perú y México) surgió en América Latina como un nuevo bloque regional en abril de 2011. Fue declarado por sus miembros como un proceso de integración regional que fomenta – según el Acuerdo Marco de la Alianza del Pacífico – el regionalismo abierto y la inserción internacional en la región Asia-Pacífico.

A partir de entonces, se empezó a discutir la idea de que la Alianza del Pacífico contrastaba con Mercosur por la Academia, por periódicos nacionales e internacionales, y por actores domésticos brasileños. En un primer momento, por parte de Brasil, los impactos de la Alianza del Pacífico sobre Mercosur fueron tratados con cierto escepticismo, principalmente por que se creía que la Alianza del Pacífico podría aprender con la experiencia del Mercosur, hasta que en 2014 hubo una iniciativa por parte de Brasil de aproximarse al bloque y, actualmente, este ha sido un tema relevante en la agenda de política exterior de Brasil.

La presente tesis de magíster se enfoca a comprender dicha aproximación a partir de la política exterior brasileña, enfocándose en cómo ésta percibe y se relaciona con la Alianza del Pacífico en el período entre 2011 y 2018. La investigación realizada se fundamentó en metodología y datos cualitativos para contestar la pregunta si la Alianza del Pacífico está en conflicto o es complementaria a la agenda brasileña para la integración regional.

Los resultados presentados elucidan los principales posicionamientos brasileños en relación a la Alianza del Pacífico a lo largo del período; cómo surgió el debate interno en relación a aquella; cuáles actores domésticos y agencias gubernamentales se involucraron en el proceso de decisión; cuáles son las diferencias, y principalmente, cuáles son las líneas de continuidad de un gobierno y el otro que sostienen la hipótesis de que la Alianza del Pacífico es opuesta a los objetivos brasileños para la integración regional.

Author: Julia de Souza Borba Gonçalvez

Spanish Title: Brasil y la Alianza del Pacífico: ¿visiones en disputa en la integración regional?

Portuguese Title: Brasil e a Aliança do Pacífico: visões em disputa na integração regional?

Full document:2019, Borba, Brasil e a Aliança do Pacífico- visões em disputa na integração regional?

Abstract:
Not available

Resumen:
En resumen, tanto por las exigencias del entorno mundial como por las propias dinámicas del acontecer regional, se tiende a privilegiar la construcción de espacios amplios y unificados de cooperación. Un proceso de integración de características regionales parece, pues, más adecuado a los signos de los tiempos y a las exigencias del cambio estructural en pro de la igualdad en América Latina.
La gradual convergencia entre la Alianza del Pacífico y el MERCOSUR podría constituir un catalizador decisivo de ese proceso. Con el presente documento, la CEPAL busca contribuir a la elaboración de una posible agenda de trabajo que dé expresión concreta a esa convergencia.

Institutional Author: ECLAC
Spanish Title: La Alianza del Pacífico y el MERCOSUR /Hacia la convergencia en la diversidad
Full document: 2014, CEPAL, La Alianza del Pacífico y el MERCOSUR Hacia la Convergencia en la Diversidad

Abstract:
The Pacific Alliance is an original integration mechanism adjusted to specific historical peculiarities of the region and of the founding states. It also shares some features with certain regionalism indications, especially with the open regionalism that characterized the 90s of the XX century. For this reason, The Pacific Alliance is presented as a renewed and updated regionalism, which is considered of deep integration. Economic internationalisation through the incorporation to new markets is one of the elements shared by the four founding states: Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile. These countries control more than half of the Latin American foreign trade. Nevertheless, by carefully analyzing this matter, it is possible to observe that countries such as Peru and Colombia are left behind with respect to Mexico and Chile, even when compared to other countries of the region. Commercial agreements –especially The Pacific Alliance– are presented as an important opportunity for the Colombian strategy to reach economic internationalization, but it is important to overcome the exporting isolation and dependence of the country in order to maximize its potential benefits. It was evidenced that Colombia is commercially left behind when compared to the other members of the Alliance, especially Mexico and Chile.

Resumen:
La Alianza del Pacífico se presenta como un mecanismo de integración regional novedoso, ajustado a ciertas particularidades históricas de la región y de los Estados fundadores. Pero también, como proceso de integración comparte características con ciertas formas del regionalismo, especialmente con el regionalismo abierto característico de los años 90 del siglo XX, por lo cual, la Alianza del Pacífico se presenta como un nuevo regionalismo renovado, actualizado y autodenominado de integración profunda. La internacionalización económica por medio de inserción a nuevos mercados, es uno de los elementos que comparten los cuatro Estados fundadores: México, Colombia, Perú y Chile. En su conjunto estos países acaparan más de la mitad del comercio exterior latinoamericano.
No obstante, analizando en detalle se observa que países como Perú y especialmente Colombia, se encuentran un poco rezagados en dicha materia con respecto a sus similares de México y Chile, incluso si se mira a otros países de la región. Los acuerdos comerciales y en especial la Alianza del Pacífico se presenta como una importante oportunidad en la estrategia colombiana de internacionalización económica, pero se debe superar el aun aislamiento y dependencia mono exportadora del país, con el fin de maximizar los beneficios potenciales que estos presentan, ya que se evidencia un importante rezago de Colombia en términos comerciales con respecto a los demás miembros de la alianza, especialmente frente a México y Chile.

Authors: Lisbeth Katherine Duarte Herrera, Carlos Hernán González Parías, Diego Alejandro Montoya Uribe
Spanish Title: Colombia de cara al nuevo regionalismo renovado: la Alianza del Pacífico
Full document:2014, Duarte et al, Colombia de Cara al Nuevo Regionalismo Renovado- la Alianza del Pacífico

Abstract:
The year 2013 brought much attention to the Pacific Alliance (Alianza del Pacífico), the most recent regional integration initiative in Latin America.
Building on the existing free trade agreements between them, the four members of the Alliance –Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru– have set the goal of advancing towards the free movement of goods, services, capitals and people, with the objective of creating an ‘area of deep integration’ to stimulate economic growth and competitiveness.
Since it was formally constituted in June 2012, the Pacific Alliance has come to be seen as the most promising and dynamic regional group in Latin America. Adopting a free market approach to regional integration, it is widely perceived as an alternative to the ‘stagnating’ and ‘increasingly protectionist’ Mercosur bloc. In this regard, the Pacific Alliance has led to hopes for a new momentum for regional integration and cooperation in Latin America, as well as to concerns about a possible fracture in the region. The EU, which has long-standing institutionalised links, liberalised trade and good relations with the members of the Pacific Alliance, has welcomed the Alliance as a promising initiative. The evolution of the Alliance could have direct or indirect consequences for the EU’s relations with other regional blocs in Latin America.

Institutional Author: European Parliament
Full document: 2014, EU PP, The Pacific Alliance- Regional Integration or Fragmentation?

Abstract:
The Pacific Alliance could be understood as an effective cooperation integration project in Latin America. Its rapid progress coupled with the political will and pragmatism of the leaders of the states that comprise it has raised expectations in many countries and multinational companies that have come to see the real engine of the region.

In a promising initial phase, the countries of the Pacific Alliance have taken a wide variety of commitments. In the coming years, we will see the arduous process of implementing what has been agreed. This paper tries to present a range of features that make the Pacific Alliance different in the region. This work examines its prospects to conquer the Asian market lead by the accelerated growth of China, the ASEAN, Australia’s and New Zealand’s prosperity, and their relationship with other similar initiatives such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Resumen:
La Alianza del Pacífico puede ser catalogada como un efectivo proyecto de cooperación colectiva que busca la integración en América Latina. Su rápido progreso, sumado a la voluntad política y pragmatismo de los líderes de los estados que la conforman, ha generado expectativas en muchos países y empresas multinacionales que la han llegado a considerar el nuevo motor de la región. En una fase inicial prometedora, los países de la Alianza del Pacífico han asumido una amplia variedad de compromisos. En los próximos años tendrá lugar el arduo proceso de implementar todo lo que vienen acordando.

El presente texto pretende dar un alcance sobre las características que hacen diferente a la Alianza del Pacífico en la región, sus perspectivas con miras a conquistar el mercado asiático liderado por el intenso crecimiento de China y los países de la ASEAN, así como la prosperidad de Australia y Nueva Zelanda; y su relación con otras iniciativas similares –pero de evidentes distintas dimisiones– como el Foro APEC y el Acuerdo de Asociación Transpacífico (TPP).

Author: Oscar Maúrtuade Romaña
Spanish Title: La Alianza del Pacífico: Perspectivas de un Nuevo Bloque de Integración Orientado al Asia Pacífico
Full document: 2014, Maurtúa, Perspectivas de un Nuevo Bloque de Integración Orientado a Asia Pacífico

Abstract:
Not available

Resumen:
La “democratización liberal y de mercado”, se propone amortiguar la crisis global y sistémica por la que atraviesa América Latina, región cuya memoria histórica registra traumáticos procesos de autoritarismo de mercado sobre sus sistemas políticos. La democracia procedimental y los sistemas multipartidistas monopolizan la representación, pretendiendo convertirse en antídoto contra el autoritarismo y fuente de un futuro desarrollo prominente. Mientras tanto, el discurso neoliberal que enaltecía las ventajas del libre mercado, la desregulación, las privatizaciones y el Estado mínimo, de acuerdo al Consenso de Washington, estableció este modelo ideológico como conductor de la integración, y condicionante para la estabilidad democrática y macroeconómica. Sin embargo, la democracia liberal-procedimental en la región, asociada al proceso de integración neoliberal, produjo un conflictivo triángulo Estado-Sociedad-Mercado, donde la imposición de un modelo de organización política y un sistema de valores homogéneo anglo-eurocéntrico, promovido como democracia global, fue el discurso dominante. Ante la desigualdad y la exclusión producto de ese modelo, emergen propuestas post-neoliberales orientadas a redibujar la integración democrática en la pizarra latinoamericana. Desde los movimientos sociales, surgen proyectos políticos con una nueva gramática democrática de resistencia, y reconocimiento de agendas sociales relacionadas con la integración autónoma latinoamericana.

Author: Jaime Antonio Preciado Coronado
Spanish Title: La nueva gramática democrática frente a la integración autónoma latinoamericana y caribeña
Full document2014, Preciado, La Nueva Gramática Democrática frente a la Integración Autónoma Latinoamericana y Caribeña