Spain as the EU’s ‘champion’ in Latin America

Elites, government trustworthiness, and free trade

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12736814
AutoresJosé Manuel Rivas (0000-0002-5115-8022, Universidad de Salamanca), Asbel Bohigues (0000-0002-9875-7743, Universitat de València, autor correspondente)
Ano2023
Volume32
Fascículo2
Páginas510-523
Data de publicação2023-10-19
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Contemporary European Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1478-2790 • E-ISSN: 1478-2804
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14782804.2023.2271846
OpenAlexW4387818910
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas41

This paper addresses attitudes around the projection of the EU among Latin American elites, namely the determinants of support for a Free Trade Agreement between the two regions and the trustworthiness of the EU government. We take as data elite surveys conducted in 15 Latin American countries (2014-2019) and consider sociodemographics, ideology, support for democracy, views of foreign powers, exports to the EU, and electoral democracy. Results show that ideology and support for democracy are key determinants of support for an interregional FTA, and that the trustworthiness of governments in the US, China, and Spain covary with attitudes toward the EU. The latter (trust in the government in Spain) proves to be the main driver and, furthermore, its impact is conditional on the economic strength (observed as exports) of the EU: wherever the EU is not a strong economic actor in Latin America, trust in the Spanish government does nothing but improve the image of the EU

Champion · Democracy · Economics · Elite · Government (linguistics · Ideology · Latin Americans · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Trustworthiness · International Relations in Latin America · Law · Psychology · Public Administration · Social Psychology