Productive integration in Latin America between 2000 and 2019

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1676-6288.prolam.2025.233468

Keywords:

Productive integration, Intra and extra-regional trade, Mercosur, Regional value chains, Productive disintegration

Abstract

This article analyzes the evolution of the intra- and extra-regional trade structure of ALADI, CAN, and Mercosur between 2000 and 2019, as well as productive integration within these blocs. United Nations trade data were used to classify products according to their production stages. The focus was on the trade of intermediate goods —parts and components— and capital goods, as a way to assess the complementarity of industrial production among member countries and the potential formation of regional value chains. The results showed that, until 2009, there was a trend toward increasing productive integration; however, this trend reversed in the following years, so that the degree of integration after 20 years was lower than at the beginning of the century. Mercosur is the main driver of both the integration and the subsequent productive disintegration observed. These findings suggest that the region is regressing in its internal and external trade relations, specializing in products based on natural resources, which tends to exacerbate the historical problem of dependency and poses new challenges for the Latin American economic integration project.

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Author Biographies

  • Carlos Rodríguez González, University of the Basque Country

     Doctor en Economía. Profesor de la Universidad del País Vasco, España. Correo: carlos.rodriguezg@ehu.eus.

  • Ricardo Lobato Torres, Federal University of Paraná

    Doctor en Economía. Profesor de la Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brasil. E-mail: ricardotorres@ufpr.br.  Autor correspondiente.

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Published

2025-12-31

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Section

Original Article

How to Cite

Rodríguez González, C., & Lobato Torres, R. (2025). Productive integration in Latin America between 2000 and 2019. Brazilian Journal of Latin American Studies, 24(51). https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1676-6288.prolam.2025.233468