Fragmented Integration in a Multipolar Trade Order: Latin America, Africa and the Search for Convergence

Regions sharing similar developmental trajectories often hold the most valuable lessons for one another. Too often, development thinking flows vertically, from advanced economies outward. Yet, many of the most transformative insights emerge horizontally, through the comparison of regions confronting analogous structural constraints, geopolitical pressures, and integration dilemmas. This article explores the external trade relations of Africa and Latin America: two regions marked by striking historical and structural similarities, yet still navigating distinct geopolitical and developmental trajectories. What makes this comparison compelling is that, beneath these divergences, new forms of convergence are beginning to emerge: reshaping how the Global South positions itself within a rapidly fragmenting world economy. Read it in English or Spanish.