Power Blocs and Regional Organizations in Latin America: A Poulantzian Perspective

Abstract

This article aims to present the Marxist theoretical framework based on Nicos Poulantzas’s thought to analyse regionalism in Latin America. We propose that regionalism is determined by the interests of the bourgeois hegemonic fraction in the power bloc. The originality of the theoretical proposal presented lies in the thesis that regionalisms are the fruit of relations between power blocs of the member states. The article illustrates the recent processes of regionalism in Latin America that, from this theoretical proposal’s point of view, can vary among the following models: open regionalism (related to the interests of comprador bourgeoisie); multidimensional regionalism (linked to internal bourgeoisie interests); and anti-imperialism (related to a national bourgeoisie project). We conclude that the dependency of these social formations, the presence of foreign capital, and the role of US imperialism should be considered in the analysis of regionalism in Latin America.