European Union–Latin American relations in a turbulent era

The mere mentioning of “the transatlantic relationship” generates a standard interpretation. ¹ Customary understanding claims that it is supposed to deal with the links between Europe and the United States (moderately expanded to include Canada, a country taken for granted). This is a view shared both in Brussels and Washington. This geographic concept very rarely includes the role of Mexico, for example. This “relationship” is never understood as triangular, formed by three partners (United States/Canada, Europe, and Latin America/Caribbean). A quadrangular format, including Africa, is contemplated only in a bilateral sense, usually when one of the important partners (the United States or Europe) is considered as a protagonist. In sum, “Atlantis” (as an entity shared by all) is as mysterious and difficult to grasp as the myth of antiquity, a problem that this volume surely tries to grasp and analyze.