Latin America's Absence From the Global Stage

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Is Latin America unable to make the great power’s mouths water? 

Historically, Latin America has been a point of contention for many different European countries. This includes the Age of Piracy as Spain and Portugal flexed their geopolitical strength in the new region and French intervention in Mexico, causing President James Monroe to create the Monroe Doctrine to ward off any foreign intervention into the Western Hemisphere. 

Today, the region is fragmented as individual countries represent themselves at G-20 and not as a collectivized interest. While it was rumored Brazil would have a spot on the United Nation Security Council, it remains just a far cry from the reality of the situation. 

If Latin America does not participate in the decisions table with the other great powers, is it on the menu? Comparing it to other developing countries, Africa is positioned to be a global economic boom in the next couple decades, but why doesn’t this logic apply to Latin America? 

For starters, Latin America has been the target of China’s Belt and Road Initiative with 9 countries signing strategic partnerships with China, but investments are insubstantial when comparing it to other regions in China’s initiatives like Africa and parts of Asia. In fact, 9 out of 14 countries in the world that still recognize Taiwan as a formal nation belong in Latin America. Perhaps this is in fear of losing the support of the United States. Not only that, loans from China have sharply declined, a sign that Chinese commitment is waning in an ever-unstable region. 

Well, how about the United States? Unfortunately, the United States interest of the region has considerably declined as it is no longer interested in the combination of energy and drugs. Recent shale oil blooms in the United States and self-sufficiency in terms of drugs has weakened the United State’s interest. 

Where will Latin America go from here? It falls prey to American hegemony, which deters foreign investments from those that are still willing to bet on a region that is charged with corruption and humanitarian crises. For now, it remains off the menu.