The relationship between Western Europe and Latin America has an imbalance between its strong political ties and its weak economic ones. The rapprochement that began in the 1960s intensified in the 1980s, confirms this claim. On the one hand, the enormous expectations of Latin America were frustrated; In this sense, some policies applied by the European Community, such as protectionism, the Common Agricultural Policy, passivity in the face of external debt and little cooperation confirm this view. On the other hand, Europe does not see Latin America as a priority region and perceives that only drastic changes in its productive structure will be able to avoid its economic marginalization. Bearing this reality in mind, the possible courses of bi-regional relations are considered. We argue that the convergences between the two are more of a myth and that the challenge of the 1990s implies a new approach: an economic rather than a political agenda.
Keywords:
European Community, Latin America, Interregional Relations, International Economic Relations, Foreign Policy
Author Biography
Jorge Heine, Instituto de Estudios Internacionales, Universidad de Chile
Doctor en ciencia política de la Universidad de Stanford, Estados Unidos. Investigador del Centro Latinoamericano de Economía y Política Internacional (CLEPI) y profesor del Instituto de Estudios Internacionales de la Universidad de Chile.
Heine, J. (1991). ¿Cooperación o divergencia? Haacia una nueva agenda en las relaciones europeo-latinoamericanas. Estudios Internacionales, 24(93), p. 106–158. https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-3769.1991.15558
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