"Regional Leaderships in Latin American 'New' Regionalism: The Case of Venezuela and Mexico".

The leadership competition has become one of the most salient features of the Latin American 'new' regionalism since the 2000s. Venezuela and Mexico have actively engaged in the regionalism drive, competing against the two hegemonic powers (the USA and Brazil) in the region. As a result, various institutions have been created to deepen the different types of regional cooperation. These institutions included the Venezuelan-led Alternativa Bolivariana para la América (ALBA) and the Mexican-led Plan Mesoamérica besides the Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (UNASUR) driven by the Brazilian regional leadership. Latin American 'new' regionalism includes leadership competition among the two middle powers (Venezuela and Mexico) and the one major power (Brazil). The goal of this paper is to make a modest contribution to understanding Latin American 'new' regionalism by explaining the similarities and differences between Venezuela and Mexico in the current leadership of 'new' regionalism. In conclusion, the expansion of American hegemonic leadership to the south in the 1990s was the primary force behind the Brazilian-led Latin American regionalism. The leadership competition among the major powers in the region created a leadership vacuum to be filled by a middle or small power. The president's strong will and top-down decision-making are common points between Venezuela and Mexico in the regionalism leadership. Contrary to the Mexican case, Venezuela has consistently opposed the USA-led Free Trade Area Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) and has been strategically linked with Brazil in regionalism matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]