Latin American Regionalism During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Saved by Functionalism?

COVID-19 arrived in Latin America in a context of ideological polarization among national governments and internal socio-political turmoil, which bode badly for its numerous and overlapping regional groupings. However, in a manner reminiscent of functionalist theories, some of them have “taken refuge” in technical/expert cooperation and side-stepped political paralysis with different degrees of success. With institutions and previous experience in health issues, CARICOM and SICA had a significant role in the management of the pandemic, while CELAC revived by promoting cooperation at a technical level. In contrast, MERCOSUR failed to overcome the political rift among its members, so technical cooperation occurred, yet remained limited.