The Pacific Alliance is a trade bloc that aims to become the largest in Latin America. It is composed of four countries: Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The Alliance was formed following the Lima Declaration, which was signed on 28 April 2011, when Peru’s president at the time, Alan Garcia, took the initiative to invite his counterparts from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Panama to "deepen the integration between these economies and define joint action for trade ties with Asia Pacific, on the basis of existing bilateral trade agreements between the parties."

The Alliance has held seven summits so far and has as observers Panama (expected to become member in 2013), Costa Rica (also in the process of becoming member) and others.

The Alliance is often criticised together with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which it complements, as an instrument of US interests in Latin America. The vision is that Washington is trying to create a wedge in South America by pushing the countries it already has FTAs with (Colomba, Chile, Peru) to form a bloc and then dragging that bloc into the TPP. Events of the past months show things moving in this direction, to the point that Bolivian President Evo Morales and former Brazilian President Lula da Silva have come out and criticised it.

According to Raul Zibechi: "The Pacific Alliance has three objectives. One: shackle the Pacific countries as exporters of natural goods, consolidate them as countries without industries but huge inequalities and, therefore, rising internal militarisation. Two: prevent the consolidation of regional integration and isolate Brazil as well as Argentina and Venezuela. Three, and its proponents never say this: form the American leg of the TPP which the US wants to convert into an economic arm of its military megaproject to contain China."

last update: September 2013
Photo: Goldstarsuper/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0