The perpetual pursuit of integration in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean set out to achieve regional integration. However, sixty years on from the launch of the first major regional project —the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA)— the modest results have fallen well short of the original aspirations. Latin America and the Caribbean is a fragmented region. Institutions for integration have achieved little, and integration has largely appeared in discourse, rather than among national policy priorities. Politicization of integration has hampered progress on the pragmatic and long-term vision offered by this regional project. As supply chains are nearshored, integration is once again becoming an important issue. In view of the national circumstances that must be taken into account to move forward with this major regional project, a number of measures are proposed in this article, to take advantage of nearshoring and pave the way for greater integration, to drive growth, development and well-being.