Who Can Empower LAC Development? A Comparative Analysis of the China-LAC “Five Programs” and the US “New Monroe Doctrine”

The region of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has fallen into a low-growth trap. In 2025, the China-LAC “Five Programs” and the US “New Monroe Doctrine” were launched as two pivotal initiatives shaping the region’s development trajectory. This article integrates the framework of Four-Pairs Relations (farmer and land, labor and capital, government and market, state and world) with the theory of neo-structuralism, to outline an analytical framework that systematically examines how the two initiatives either empower or hinder LAC development. The China-LAC “Five Programs” systematically empower LAC structural reforms across the Four-Pairs Relations, aligning with the neo-structuralist vision of integrating “growth-employment-climate” objectives, while fostering sustainable, autonomous development in the region. In contrast, the “New Monroe Doctrine,” driven by hegemonic objectives, reinforces “center-periphery” dependency through resource monopolization, control over industrial chains, and power interventions, exacerbating the low-growth trap into which the region has fallen. Driven by internal development needs and strategic autonomy considerations, LAC countries are tending to deepen their cooperation with China. As a model of South-South collaboration, the China-LAC “Five Programs” offer a new paradigm for the Global South to address its structural challenges.