Based on the discursive perspective of identity study, the article aims to demonstrate how South America's political leaders conduct the region's integration through communicative strategies focused on forging a regional identity. The article further analyzes how such constructions relate to political practices and power distribution patterns. Using qualitative and quantitative discourse analysis, the study analyzes speeches by South American heads-of-state and foreign affairs ministers in the context of institutionalization of Unasul, as well as the underlying norms in the latter's organization. The hypothesis is that the national leaders proactively promote discursive processes of social identification in the construction of Unasul as a means to legitimize and foment regional cooperation, although the identity narratives vary between countries according to their respective values.
collective identities; South American integration; discourse
