Regional Integration Politics: The Cases of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Southem Common Market

Paradoxically, the international tendency towards globalization has consolidated the regional integration process. European integration through the European Union (EU) is a good example. The Southamerican integration effort through the Southern Common Market (SCM) is yet another. The comparison between SCM and the less ambitious mechanism of the North American Free Trade Agreement, can be useful for Mexico since an eventual union between both mechanisms would favor the Mexican diversification efforts. Furthermore, Mexico could play an important role as this union's intermediary.