This article carries out a theoretical critique of the global value chains, understood as a relevant tool in the analysis of the processes of globalization, not only at the academic level but at the institutional level as well, based on the formulation of development strategies promoted by governments and international organizations in the Global South. Taking into account the evolution of the concept from a compared perspective in relation to the world-system theory from which it stemmed, the shortcomings based either on a distancing from said theory or as a result of the limitations that are a product of the theoretical platform they share. The restrictions to understand the reproduction of the hierarchical and unequal structure of capitalism and the diverging scenarios within the Global South emerge as the main theoretical-empirical obstacles. In this sense, the article concludes underlining some challenges that must be overcome.
global value chains; development; Global South; world-system theory
