The crisis of the European Union and its impact on regionalism in Latin America

At the same time during which the European Union is passing through one of the worst crises in its history, the attempts to promote regionalism in South America are also beset by grave problems, with some commentators suggesting that 'regionalism is out, sovereignty back in', in the words of Andrés Malamud. This article aims to respond to the question whether there is a connection between the problems confronted in Europe and the difficulties here in the region. In other words, what has been the impact of the European crisis on the prospects for highly developed regionalism in South America. Based on interviews with policy-makers and representatives of Brazilian industry, as well as an analysis of the existing literature, the article argues that, even though both have suffered as a consequence of the general global political and economic trends - and both suffer from similar problems in terms of their strategic thinking - the particularities of each case does not allow for a direct causal link between the European and South American case.