Central American Integration System (SICA): main challenges in the post-Covid-19 period

Abstract

The projects for economic integration in Central America are one of the first attempts to achieve this objective in the world. In the face of the globalization process, the Central American states have, in integration, a strategic means to insert themselves into the international system. It was with this vision that the Central American Integration System (SICA) was created. Several factors have made it impossible to advance the integration agenda. Among the main ones, the following stand out: asymmetries in the levels of economic development among its member countries, stagnation of intra-regional trade, conflicts between States and weakness of the System's institutions. Since the crisis caused by Covid-19, the need to integrate these small countries in the face of the large economic blocs in the world has become more evident. The challenges ahead of this project derive from overcoming the main difficulties mentioned above. Due to this, the objective of this research is: to evaluate the main challenges of SICA as an integration mechanism as of 2021.