Building the Americas

Bringing together, in a common and single space, a continent characterized by great diversity and significant asymmetries, is not an easy task. The Americas are still composed of different spaces, countries, cultures and societies not yet sharing a common sense of destiny. But if there is no single "America", a new regionalism has emerged and represents a roadmap to a new governance framework implying the deepening of liberal economic and institutional reforms. Resistance and obstacles remain numerous and perhaps the biggest challenge is to address the complex issues related to North-South integration within the hemisphere and to the hegemonic position of the United States. If the process of "Building the Americas" can be depicted as an attempt to define governance in an era of market-led integration, the paradox is that its eventual success depends on its capacity to transcend the immediate commercial and trade orientations and to create a true Community of Democracies. In other words, in order to succeed, the process of "Building the Americas" must now go beyond market-led integration, beyond US hegemonic governance, and, foremost, it must recognize and embrace the diversity of cultures, values and identities in the hemisphere.