Democratic Integration in North America: Focusing on Democratic Institutions

Twenty-five years after the establishment of NAFTA, the limits of this trade agreement are obvious. Rather than integration, NAFTA’s actual outcomes evince a profound North-South inequality. This utopian agreement developed trade but turned into a dystopia in terms of security, migration, and development, particularly for Mexico. While USMCA features some changes, democratic oriented policies are badly needed. Contrary to the right-wing, anti-free trade discourse, I argue that, beyond a technocratic perspective, a radical transformation is needed to build a continental integration based on democratic institutions and cooperation beyond supranational organizations. I propose an integration based on a) security through justice institutions; b) global development that addresses migration; and c) sustainable cooperation in environmental policies.