Latin America prepared for US financial bubble to burst

Latin America is rapidly changing the orientation of the old standards of economic policy dominated by the United States and welcomes the arrival of other world powers. Some time ago, the South American continent was a good friend of Russia, its economic partner and political ally. However, Russia is moving away from it, and for no good reason.

It is hard to imagine that Russia and Latin America may have more in common than large reserves of natural resources. Meanwhile, cultural and spiritual values ​​of the Russians and citizens of many Latin American countries are so close that a single concept of the emerging new world is reflected in the economic and foreign policy. The idea of ​​creating BRICS, though not owned by the followers of a multipolar world, still embodied in the pursuit of post-industrial countries to set their own rules on the international platform.

Brazil is the largest country in Latin America in terms of economic indicators, as well as Argentina. However, recently the latter was in the deepest financial depression, enslaved by the International Monetary Fund. The economic growth that was beginning to show in Argentina suggests that Latin American countries are fed up with neo-liberal capitalism. The reformed economies have not been able to adapt to globalization, and class stratification began to grow exponentially.

The arrival of alternative, mostly leftist leaders in the region indicates that they welcome an end to the hegemony of the United States on the continent and are waiting for the arrival of other world powers. That is why a positive political dialogue is so important between the South American continent and Russia as it would catalyze the economic and trade ties. Despite the fact that the global financial crisis has caused severe damage to these relations, the trade between Latin America and Russia exceeds eight billion dollars, and before the crisis it was twice the present rate.

However, despite the fact that the countries seized by the idea of ​​national identity strive to form a unified Latin American space, they are far from uniform in terms of their financial indicators. Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico are countries that follow the path of technological innovation and will continue to grow. Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia will continue to languish as "drug lords". This is despite the fact that the natural resources of Bolivia are hardly inferior to those of Venezuela, but the people in this country are among the poorest in the region.

Peru, Chile and Mexico are members of APEC, and Brazil is part of BRICS conglomerate. The insistence with which the Russians and Latinos overcome the difficulties and hardships should cause blatant jealousy of the West, where the population even in the "light savings" mode takes to the streets with protests. But why Russia that also has a large economic weight in the above-mentioned organizations have increasingly moved away from Latin American markets? What are the prospects for cooperation between Russia and the continent of South America at the time when Europe and the United States are in deep crisis? How utopian is the concept of multilateralism based on spatial-territorial proximity?

Writer Vladislav Savin suggested the concept of "friendship through a neighbor," and there is certain logic to it. Latin America and Russia never had a common border and, consequently, territorial conflict. This is not to the liking of the United States used to leading the movement against a "common enemy". So far the hegemony is supported by the economic indicators, as well as a number of formally independent organizations - NATO, WTO, World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Here Moscow should try and prepare in advance to enter the region with a competitive advantage when the U.S. financial bubble finally bursts.

On the one hand, the current numbers of the economic relations between Russia and Latin America have surpassed the numbers of the Soviet times, when Russia and the South American continent were mainly connected by virtue of ideological and political and military-strategic reasons. On the other hand, the inertia of the Russian business is a major barrier to unification. Even large corporations like the "Gazprom", LUKOIL, "Aluminum" and "Power Machines" only began to move from talking to specific commercial projects.

If the current trends continue, the trade turnover between the countries of Latin America and Russia by 2017 could exceed $20 billion. It may be higher if Russia manages to keep this area as a major market for weapons after the Middle East currently engulfed in revolutions. The policy of "loose hands" may bring out other types of cooperation, such as the use of the equatorial launch site "Alcantara" in Brazil. The main thing is to be able to bring the relationship to the level of strategic partnership. To do this, both diplomacy and business will have to assess the interests of exporters and investors from other countries that are now firmly seated on the South American continent.

Darya Deryabina.