The decision-making process in Mercosur and NAFTA: The dilemma between regional integration and national sovereignty in Latin America

Abstract

Objective/context: The objective of this work is to approach the debates on Latin American regional integration from the perspective of the study of the decision-making process in the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and its implications in the debates on the State and national sovereignty. Methodology: The research is carried out through a qualitative, historical and comparative approach. The selection of cases prioritizes two important models of regional integration in Latin America. Mercosur conforms to a type B South-South association that proposes the deepening of the agendas, while NAFTA is a type A, preferentially economic agreement (Di Filippo 2000), in line with the North-South cooperation model. NAFTA and Mercosur are comparable in terms of decision-making procedures that, although corresponding to different institutional structures, have the common feature of conforming to an intergovernmental model as the principle that would ensure respect for the sovereignty of States. The sources of information for the analysis were the documents produced in both integration agencies referring to the decision-making mechanisms, press reviews and the institutional archive, in the period from 1990 to 2017.2 Conclusions: With this study, conclusions are reached on the tensions between regional integration and national sovereignty that become reflections on the differences between North-South and South-South integration; It contributes to the debate regarding intergovernmental and supranational models, as well as to the dialogue on the controversial economic integration agreement between Mexico, the USA. and Canada, and the changes in regional integration in South America. Originality: This research is original from its comparative methodology and also for being a recent and current contribution of Latin American geopolitics, based on the tensions in regional integration, as a key scenario of the analysis of power, international relations and the nation-state in Latin America.