Abstract

LASCURAIN FERNANDEZ, Mauricio; VILLAFUERTE VALDES, Luis Fernando  and  CARRERA MORA, Oscar Yahevh. Economic Globalization and Social Cohesion in Latin America. Intersticios sociales [online]. 2021, n.22, pp.297-327.  Epub Nov 03, 2021. ISSN 2007-4964.

The current process of economic globalization has been identified by its detractors as the cause of the low levels of development registered in Latin America, despite the fact that throughout its history this region has presented high levels of inequality in almost all indicators of social welfare. But another current approach -one with a clear neoliberal tendency- proposes that globalization has positive effects for the growth and convergence among countries and their regions, reduces poverty, and incentivizes the design of democratic principles, such as the rule of law and respect for human rights. Based on this vision, it is possible to determine that globalization can be a phenomenon that motivates income distribution due to the availability of greater economic, political, and social opportunities, and that this can reduce disparities, inequalities, and poverty and lead to prosperity. In this light, the aim of this article is to analyze the impact of the current globalization process on the construction of social cohesion in Latin America, through a correlation analysis of variables obtained from data in the Globalization Index and diverse indicators of social cohesion defined by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Keywords : globalization; social cohesion; quality of life; social welfare.