The centrality of infrastructure in Latin American regional integration

Abstract

This article aims to problematize the integration of Latin American regional infrastructure, considered a "catalyst" for regional integration, focusing on the discussion of financing. It begins with a debate about regional integration models, emphasizing two paradigms that have shaped its history: the developmentalist model, whose core lies in the ideas of ECLAC, in which productive integration and public financing play a central role; and the neoliberal model, which emphasizes trade and financial openness, the attraction of private capital, and "open regionalism," the preferred path for countries since the 1990s. Following this, it addresses the issue of economic infrastructure, emphasizing the peculiarities of investments in this area and the existing "infrastructure gaps" in Latin America. Finally, it introduces the debate on the financing of regional infrastructure in this region: until the 1980s, the developmentalist model prevailed, with a greater protagonism of the State; from the 1990s onwards, the neoliberal model was adopted, prioritizing the attraction of private capital. However, given the lower-than-expected results, regional integration in Latin America and the issue of financing are facing a "paradigm crisis" in the 21st century, with the exhaustion of old guiding models and the inconsistency of new ones. Infrastructure, however, can play a "catalytic" role in the resumption of regional projects.