REGIONAL INTEGRATION PROJECTS IN VENEZUELA’S FOREIGN POLICY UNDER THE PRESIDENCY OF NICOLAS MADURO (2013-2018)

Abstract

The purpose of the research paper is to highlight the development, changes, and results that occurred in Venezuela’s regional integration during President Nicolas Maduro’s first term of office (2013-2018). The novelty of the research paper is in a comprehensive analysis of Venezuela’s regional policy within the framework of the leading integration associations ALBA, CELAC, and UNASUR, which, according to Hugo Chavez’s plan, were supposed to turn the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela into a regional leader in Latin America. Instead, N. Maduro was unable to take advantage of his predecessor’s foreign policy successes and lost the opportunities he had planned. Conclusions. Taking into consideration the theoretical and ideological foundations of Venezuela’s foreign policy, the conclusion can be made that the regional vector of foreign policy has remained one of the focal points for President Nicolas Maduro. Thanks to its resources and ideological dominance, the country could rightfully claim regional leadership, as it united the countries of the region on the wave of anti-Americanism, initiated many integration movements, and made most countries in the region dependent on its energy supplies and credits. ‘Pockets of resistance’ to US expansion in Latin America and regional integration were concentrated in three organizations where Venezuela was one of the founders or key players: ALBA, CELAC, and UNASUR. The economic and political crisis that hit Venezuela sharply raised the question of the continuity of the ‘Bolivarian Project’, which affected the change in the state’s priorities, including in the international arena. N. Maduro had to focus on the country’s internal problems. In the regional integration policy of Venezuela during N. Maduro’s first term of office, we can distinguish two qualitative periods: 1. 2013-2015, the time of relatively successful implementation of the regional integration course, and, 2. 2016-2018, the decline and actual collapse of the regional vector of Venezuela’s foreign policy. It was just the loss of democratic tendencies in Maduro’s domestic policy that led to the loss of regional leadership and global stature. The three integration projects analyzed by the authors started losing their credibility and effectiveness during 2013-2018, which happened mostly due to the crisis in Venezuela. CELAC and UNASUR de facto ceased their activities, and ALBA remained the only instrument of N. Maduro’s regional influence.