ABSTRACT
The second half of the 1980s saw the collapse of social policies based on need internationally. This was caused not so much by their theoretical errors as by their mistaken and ineffective implementation. The prevailing belief in a market-oriented approach inspired a global capitalist restructuring with the promise that it would bring renewed productivity, growth and profitability. This restructuring has been marked by regional integration in the international sphere. The emergence of three great trading blocks-Europe, Japan and Asia, and the United States with Canada and Latin America-has forced each country to combine with the others, and to adopt a code of behaviour in accordance with its status within this international division of labour.
