Regional Policy Frameworks of Social Solidarity Economy in South America

The paper argues that while civil society presents the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) as a new economic paradigm, regional frameworks under UNASUR and MERCOSUR treat it as a supplement to capitalist economies. This is evidenced by the limited role of SSE in major integration projects and the institutional confinement of SSE to poverty eradication ministries, which prevents the restructuring of the dominant economy and maintains economic centralization.

• Regional policy frameworks treat the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) as a supplement to dominant capitalist economies rather than a new economic paradigm, despite how civil society groups present it.
• Although cooperatives and the SSE sector are framed as drivers of socioeconomic policy and regional integration, they have limited involvement in major integration projects, which hinders the mainstreaming of SSE.
• SSE is institutionally restricted to poverty eradication rather than economic restructuring because implementation is handled almost exclusively by ministers of social development. Furthermore, SSE's fiscal dependence on dominant industries prevents it from challenging economic centralization in key sectors.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Regional Policy Frameworks of Social Solidarity Economy in South America. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/regional-policy-frameworks-of-social-solidarity-economy-in-south-america/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Regional Policy Frameworks of Social Solidarity Economy in South America. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/regional-policy-frameworks-of-social-solidarity-economy-in-south-america/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Regional Policy Frameworks of Social Solidarity Economy in South America |date=17 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/regional-policy-frameworks-of-social-solidarity-economy-in-south-america/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025regional, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Regional Policy Frameworks of Social Solidarity Economy in South America}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/regional-policy-frameworks-of-social-solidarity-economy-in-south-america/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }