A look at Mercosur public policies in the field of culture

Abstract

The initial formation of Mercosur that proposed to tackle economic integration inevitably implied progress in the area of political integration. In the nineties, under the motto of greater competitiveness and growth aimed at achieving a “spillover effect”, the relaxation of public controls and regulatory flexibility took place. This brought significant business benefits but no positive impact on the population as a whole. Gradually new approaches were emerging aimed at taking other directions and encouraging a "new intervention" to socialize the losses generated by the crisis. From that perspective, it became necessary to guide politically, on constitutional grounds, a reconversion and address new axes that enabled progress in integration. In the area of social dimension -which relates to the cultural dimension- “Integration agendas” on the environment, social cohesion, citizen participation, movement of people, among others, were incorporated. This article describes certain characteristic notes that evidence the process of integration in the cultural sphere and highlights theoretical perspectives in the field of Law and International Relations from which can be thought tools that incorporate participatory processes, in order to guarantee new rights and secure them in conditions of equality between present and future generations.