The scale of the consequences of Brexit still remain unknown. But it is clear that the UK will need to reshape its relationship with Latin America as much as with the rest of the world, and this will not resemble to anything like the long gone British Empire, a time when the current ruling actors, USA, China, Russia and the EU, did not wield the same amount of power.
Latin American economies were shaped after Independence in the nineteenth century by British dominance of global trade and the impact of UK imperialism. Regional economies have changed dramatically since then, of course, and the USA, China and the Pacific have replaced the UK as favoured partners. But the European Union remains important, politically, economically and culturally in Latin America. So what does the UK decision to leave the EU, or Brexit, which was definitively ratified in the UK elections in December 2019, mean for the region? Will it create opportunities for closer trade? Will it strengthen or undermine EU-Latin American relations? Three years after the Brexit referendum, the answers are still unclear.
Brexit is forcing the UK to reshape its foreign policy with both countries within and outside of the EU. It will also inevitably change Britain’s relationship with Latin America. The EU and Latin America have established a strategic partnership and the EU has consistently looked to trade with Mercosur, Latin America’s largest trading bloc. Although the region has been growing trade with China and the Pacific region, the EU remains Mercosur’s largest trading partner, highlighting the important role that the EU plays within Latin America. The EU also plays a role in education, aid and has traditionally supported democracy within the Latin American region.
