INTERSTATE ACTORS IN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL PARTICIPATION: ARGENTINIAN INTEREST GROUPS ACTION WITHIN IIRSA AND FOCEM INFRASTRUCTURAL PROJECTS

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze civil society participation through the identification of Argentinian interest groups in processes of regional integration, with emphasis on the use and destination of resources from Mercosur Structural Convergence Fund (FOCEM) and the Initiative for Infrastructure of the South American Region (IIRSA) later connected to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUL). The methodology sought, through a comparative method between the mechanisms of reduction of regional asymmetries, to define differences in infrastructure projects approved during 2012 and 2013, considering the existence of preferences assumed by certain Argentinian groups. This article concludes that there is a distance between the preferences of the social actors studied and the current regional integration model possibilities. While IIRSA reinforces Latin American underdevelopment; FOCEM is able to reduce regional asymmetries, but has no sufficient resources to promote an effective regional infrastructure convergence.

Keywords
Interstate actors; regional integration and interest groups; Mercosur; IIRSA; FOCEM