The Andean Region between american hegemony and the alternative governments in the 21st century: challenges and dilemmas for development

Abstract

The present paper states that the operationalisation of American strategies in the Andean Region - centered in Colombia - has exacerbated the problems of the region, which has resulted in an acute social and political polarization. The extremes of such a contradiction are the governments of Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, on the one side; and the Colombian and Peruvian governments with the support of Washington, on the other side. Taking as a context the complex regional interplay presented here, this article is aimed at analyzing the effects of the current international order and of American hegemony in the Andean Region, as well as the bring to bear the perspective of development of these countries, with respect to two issues: 1) The struggle against drugs and terrorism, its social and economic effects, and its connection with the control over territories and strategic resources and, 2) the deepening of the neo-liberal model through the Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) and the IMF programs imposed on the countries.