The empty chair phenomenon in the Central American Integration System:The problem of decision making in integration processes

Abstract

This article analyzes, from a historical, political, and institutional point of view, the problem of the empty chair in the Central American Integration System (SICA), particularly at the level of its General Secretariat. It analyzes how the absence of the Secretary General is a result of design problems within the System, especially in its decision-making process. The main thesis of the article is that the different attempts to reform the System over time have modified the nature of its institutional structure, causing a contradiction within the System in two fronts: on the one hand, as a platform for political dialogue, and on the other hand, as a technical mechanism for socioeconomic development at a regional level.