CEPAL urges Latin America and Caribbean to leverage natural resources for geopolitical leverage

The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) released a report in Santiago, Chile, titled “Ruptures and opportunities: proposals for Latin America and the Caribbean to prosper in the new geopolitical era.” Co‑presided by former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and former Colombian President Iván Duque, the document calls on the region’s 660 million people to use abundant assets such as lithium, copper, graphite and rare‑earth minerals as strategic bargaining tools amid the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China and a broader shift away from a multilateral rules‑based order.

CEPAL stresses the need for deeper regional economic integration – only about 14 % of the region’s exports go to neighboring countries – and warns against rigid alignments with any great power. Executive Secretary José Manuel Salazar Xirinach highlighted eight “ruptures” reshaping geopolitics, including the erosion of multilateralism, the rise of national security over economic efficiency, and the spread of disinformation. Bachelet summed up the message: “The world has changed and Latin America and the Caribbean have many assets the world needs.” The commission urges stronger governance and cooperation to turn these assets into negotiating power and to spur development.