THE 15 YEARS OF FOCEM

Abstract

Given the dependent insertion of Latin American countries in the International System, we sought to work with the possibilities of mobility in this system. In this sense, regional integration is presented as a common solution to the condition of dependence and vulnerability of countries in the periphery. Based on this premise, we sought to understand the role that financial integration could play in the development of these countries and in the strengthening of the international financial architecture. Since the MERCOSUR Structural Convergence Fund (FOCEM) is a long-term financing initiative, the objective of this article is to map its projects during the first ten years of its existence (2006-2015) and analyze how this fund acted as a mechanism to reduce asymmetries in the same period. In addition, given the resumption of conservative governments in Latin America, it was intended to verify the impacts generated on the fund due to the absence of new contributions and the limits for advances in the integration processes.

Keywords

• latin america
• integration
• financing
• focem