The New Silk Road and Latin America: Contributions and Limits to the Power in the Global South

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) stands as one of the main instruments of China’s geoeconomic rise, challenging the monetary and financial hegemony of the United States and promoting a reorganization of global power dynamics. Its expansion into Latin America reflects a strategic move to extend China’s influence while simultaneously generating a new configuration of economic interdependence in the region. By analyzing the hegemony of the dollar standard and Sino-Latin American economic relations, this study investigates the impacts of the BRI on Latin America and its implications in the ongoing power struggle between China and the United States. It is argued that, although the Chinese initiative offers an alternative to traditional Western financing and enables new development opportunities, it also imposes structural and strategic challenges. The growing Chinese presence in the region may consolidate new forms of economic dependency, deepening Latin America’s specialization in commodity exports and infrastructure aimed at external markets. Furthermore, the BRI unfolds within an environment of increasing geopolitical rivalry, where the United States seeks to maintain its historical influence over Latin America through alternative financial and diplomatic mechanisms. Thus, this study highlights the complexity of Latin America’s integration into the Belt and Road Initiative, emphasizing the monetary, structural, and political tensions that arise from this process and the challenges that Latin American countries face in building an autonomous strategy amid the ongoing reconfiguration of the global economy.