THE UNASUR'S INSTITUTIONAL CRISIS IN THE SECOND DECADE OF THE 21ST CENTURY: FROM THE CRACKS ON ITS GENESIS TO THE EFFECTS OF THE CONSERVATIVE TURN

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the institutional crisis evidenced in the second decade of the 21st century
faced by UNASUR. We seek to highlight the political moment lived in South America, of national
reinforcement and political concertation between the different countries positioned here during the
first decade of the 21st century, which lead to the process of creation of UNASUR. To explain
UNASUR’s institutional crisis, two hypotheses are defended here: the first is located in the genesis
of the organization, based on the animosity of the Chilean, Colombian and Peruvian states to accept
the creation of the mechanism at first. The second hypothesis is in the second decade of the 21stcentury, with the victory of right-wing governments in countries that were being ruled by progressive
presidents, with a political movement known as the "conservative shift." The governments of this
movement favor economic and financial integration beyond the countries of the region and therefore
UNASUR's political and social integration project becomes unsustainable. Combined with an
institutional weakness constituted in the genesis of the organization, the governments of the
“conservative shift” are able to quickly dismantle the organization and freeze its functioning, making
room for other integration projects.