THE PRESENCE OF THE USSR (RUSSIA) AND CHINA IN LATIN AMERICA: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND THE CONTEMPORARY ERA
In the context of the transition toward a multipolar world order, the growing presence of China and Russia in Latin America constitutes one of the most relevant phenomena in contemporary international politics and the global economy. While China has established itself as a strategic trading partner, investor and infrastructure financier, Russia, to a lesser extent, has strengthened certain energy, military and geopolitical ties in various countries of the region.
The panel seeks to analyze the continuities and ruptures between the historical relations established during the Cold War and the new dynamics of the twenty-first century, marked by global geoeconomic competition, the relative weakening of U.S. hegemony, and the emergence of new forms of dependency, South-South cooperation and the reconfiguration of global value chains.
The general objective is to analyze the historical and contemporary evolution of Russia’s and China’s economic presence in Latin America, assessing its implications for local and regional social and political development, in order to foster economic sovereignty, promote international trade and contribute to the configuration of a multipolar order.
The panel will draw both on historical background (diplomatic and economic relations during the Cold War, trade exchanges with the Soviet Union, campaigns of political solidarity and technological cooperation, interaction between the CPSU, the Communist Party of China and Latin American left-wing parties, as well as an analysis of the impact of the Soviet collapse on Latin America) and on the analysis of the economic expansion of Russia and China in Latin America (bilateral trade and re-primarization, infrastructure and the Belt and Road Initiative, technological dependency (and interdependence) and energy transition, cooperation in energy, hydrocarbons and mining, and military and technological cooperation). We hope the discussions will place special emphasis on the role of Western sanctions in establishing new economic alliances, the China-United States dispute in Latin America, and the role of Russia in LAC within the context of the BRICS. We will discuss the history and changing nature of LAC’s contemporary relations with various extrahemispheric actors, in addition to exploring the implications of this process for the Global South and for fragile global governance, as well as examining the positive and negative impacts of Russia’s and China’s political and economic presence in LAC.
Coordinators:
Jorge López Arévalo, Autonomous University of Chiapas
Victor Jeifets, Saint Petersburg University
Preliminary list of topics:
Victor Jeifets. Oil, guerrilla warfare and Soviet diplomacy in Venezuela in the 1940s-1970s
Anton Andreev. The Global South in Uruguay’s foreign policy, 2020-2026
Luiz Bernardo Pericás. Caio Prado Júnior and the Soviet Union.
Dmitry Rozental. The complicated foreign policy of the Latin American left
Areli Robles Herrera. To BRICS or not to BRICS: is a close alliance between Mexico and the BRICS+ possible?
Julieta Martínez Cuero. Economic competition between the United States and China and the limits of nearshoring in Mexico
Mauricio Alonso Estévez Daniel. Mexico at the crossroads of the 21st century. Challenges for a connection with China and Russia.
Jorge Alberto López Arévalo. BRICS and Latin America
