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Latin American geopolitical and economic strategic outlook

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2026-10-09 01:41 UTC → 2026-10-09 05:48 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL/ECLAC) has released a report titled ‘Ruptures and opportunities: proposals for Latin America and the Caribbean to prosper in the new geopolitical era.’ Produced by a commission co-chaired by former presidents Michelle Bachelet of Chile and Iván Duque of Colombia, the document suggests the region’s 660 million people should utilize abundant assets—including lithium, copper, graphite, rare-earth minerals, biodiversity, fresh water, and green hydrogen potential—as strategic bargaining tools amidst intensifying US-China rivalry and the erosion of multilateralism. CEPAL emphasizes the necessity of deeper regional economic integration and warns against rigid alignments with great powers. To break cycles of dependency, the report advocates for an “active non-alignment” policy and a return to structuralist traditions to move beyond primary-export models by incorporating higher value-added processes. Complementing these strategic discussions, a new analysis by FLACSO Ecuador titled ‘Material Inequality and Physical Trade in Latin America and the Caribbean’ highlights internal disparities regarding the circulation of energy and natural resources. Despite these opportunities, the region faces significant internal instability. In Colombia, critics argue the ‘total peace’ policy has failed, noting that coca cultivation has reached 330,000 hectares and armed group membership has nearly doubled since 2022. During the 41st session of ECLAC in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, ECLAC Executive Secretary José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs warned that at current rates, only 19% of Sustainable Development Goals will be achieved in the region by 2030, noting that 39% have stagnated or regressed since 2015. Dominican President Luis Abinader, who will assume the ECLAC presidency for the next two years, noted that intra-regional trade remains low at approximately 14%. Abinader also presented the ‘Meta RD 2036’ strategy, aiming to double the Dominican Republic's economy through 6% annual growth to eliminate extreme poverty.

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