States of sovereignty and regional integration in the Andes.

The trajectory of trade negotiations between the European Union and the Comunidad Andina de Naciones can be seen as an expression of the contemporary character of dependency between the two regions and of the conflict between competing strategies of integration within the Andean region itself. The first strategy reinforces current patterns of accumulation in the area of three ‟strategic openings” (primary and raw materials, services, and the state), the expansion of rights for Northern investors, and the state violence that has accompanied the internationalization of Colombian and Peruvian capital over the past few years. The second strategy, while mired in the class-based constraints that accompanied earlier experiments with ‟inward-looking development,” positions regional integration as an alternative to neoliberalism and integration with Northern blocs dominated by imperialist interests.