POLITICAL EDUCATION AS THE FOUNDATION FOR UNDERSTANDING LATIN AMERICAN REGIONAL GEOPOLITICS

Abstract

The article analyzes political education as an essential foundation for fostering a critical and autonomous understanding of regional geopolitics in Latin America, a region marked by historical inequalities, asymmetrical power dynamics, and persistent democratic fragility. It highlights the shift in academic literature over the last two decades from classical deterministic and Eurocentric geopolitical approaches to critical and decolonial perspectives that question hegemonic narratives and privilege epistemologies specific to the South. This shift positions political education not only as a means of transmitting knowledge, but also as a tool for the decolonization of knowledge, capable of forming critical subjects who can interpret territorial conflicts, disputes over natural resources, regional integration processes, and global competitions. Therefore, significant gaps in the literature are identified in the explicit articulation between political pedagogy and geopolitical thought, as well as the persistence of Eurocentric views that reproduce epistemic dependencies. As a proposal, intercultural pedagogies based on the dialogue of knowledge, the incorporation of innovative digital tools, national curriculum reforms, and strategic alliances to overcome resource constraints are recommended. Finally, it is concluded that political education grounded in critical and decolonial approaches is essential for strengthening sovereignty, environmental justice, plurinationality, and informed citizen participation, thereby contributing to democratic consolidation and regional autonomy in a context of global geopolitical reconfiguration.