SANTIAGO, Chile - A new report is suggesting that Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region possesses strategic assets to drive development, but that doing so will require clear strategies and effective governance.
From left to right, Iván Duque, former President of Colombia; Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile; and José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC (photo: ECLAC).The report has been prepared by the Commission on Geopolitics, Globalization and Development for Latin America and the Caribbean and it presents proposals for LAC to thrive in the new geopolitical era.
The Commission was convened in late 2024 by the ECLAC Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, and Tuesday presented its report titled “Ruptures and Opportunities: Proposals for Latin America and the Caribbean to Thrive in the New Global Era”.
The Commission, co-chaired by former President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet and former President of Colombia, Iván Duque, brought together 13 distinguished figures from Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, Africa, Asia and Europe, who participated in their personal capacities and on an ad honorem basis.
The Commission’s work was undertaken with the support of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
Salazar-Xirinachs said that the title of the report encapsulated its main message, the ruptures suggest that the world had changed, and that, in turn, called for a new playbook to seize the opportunities through innovative development and international engagement strategies.
He said the 10 proposals presented in the report provide a concrete road map for mobilizing assets to generate development gains and strengthen the international presence of the countries of the region.
The report states that none of the recommendations can be implemented without effective governance and strong institutions, and points to the need to strengthen the fiscal capacity of the State and to address organized crime as a regional governance priority, and not only as a security issue.
Bachelet said that the region’s wealth lies not only beneath the ground and on the land, but also in its people and industries. She said that Latin America and the Caribbean has productive, human and financial capabilities that deserve to be valued for their full worth and great potential.
The region also has political influence, although this is not always easy to recognize or understand, and its diversity, cultural heritage, influence and visibility in the world give it a form of influence that it must learn to harness.
“The report underscores that regional cooperation can be a powerful tool for transforming assets into development gains, and that it does not require unanimity. Given the high degree of political polarization in the region, the recommendation is to prioritize functional cooperation among countries willing to move forward on specific issues, with clear objectives, time frames and responsibilities.”
The report’s central message is that the world has changed and that Latin America and the Caribbean has the assets needed to navigate this new geopolitical era successfully. The Commission identified eight ruptures that are reshaping the global order and are unfolding simultaneously.
With regards to globalization, the Commission notes that economic interdependence, once celebrated and viewed as a source of stability and efficiency, is increasingly viewed as a source of vulnerability and is being used as an instrument of power and coercion.
It said that the post-war multilateral system is weakening as it commented on the erosion of multilateralism and the reconfiguration of global governance.
The Commission said what it is emerging is a more fragmented form of governance, characterized by selective alliances and competing platforms.
It said that the world is transitioning from a unipolar system dominated by the United States to one of asymmetric multipolar competition and that soft power is becoming increasingly important as a component of States’ global presence. The soft power of the United States is declining, while that of China is on the rise.
The Commission also makes reference to the global decline of democracy and rising political polarization, noting that the erosion of democracy is accompanied by growing political polarization worldwide and that the proportion of countries classified as liberal democracies is declining.
Disinformation and the crisis of truth in the age of Artificial Intelligence is another topic explored by the report with the Commission noting that disinformation, algorithmic manipulation and the malicious use of artificial intelligence are undermining trust in institutions, fuelling polarization and weakening democratic legitimacy.
“Backlash against women’s rights, gender equality and inclusion. Advances achieved in these areas over recent decades are facing growing contestation and, in some contexts, reversal.”
The Commission notes that climate action is increasingly being subordinated to national industrial strategies, energy security concerns and geopolitical competition. In some sectors, the scientific consensus is being questioned.
Against this backdrop, the Commission maintains that the region has a set of assets whose strategic value has increased in the current geopolitical context. These include its abundant natural resource endowments; its productive, human and financial capabilities; the size of its market; its status as a region free of nuclear weapons and inter-State wars; and its intangible assets.
It said that these assets provide the region with a significant opportunity to advance its development and enhance its international presence and influence.
The report notes, however, that these assets will not spontaneously translate into development gains: this will require clear strategies, strong institutions and effective governance. To that end, 10 recommendations organised around three pillars are presented, namely seizing the moment by activating strategic assets; strengthening governance, institutions and democracy; and energizing international and regional agency
The report highlights that Latin America and the Caribbean accounts for 46 per cent of global lithium reserves, 35 per cent of copper reserves, 28 per cent of graphite reserves and 23 percent of rare earth reserves.
The region is also the world’s largest net food-exporting region, hosts nearly half of the planet’s terrestrial biodiversity and one third of its freshwater resources, and has the world’s cleanest electricity matrix.
The report also notes that the regional market, with more than 660 million people, can serve as an engine of productive diversification. However, intraregional trade currently accounts for only 14 per cent of the region’s total goods exports, one of the lowest rates globally.
