With deep sorrow we bid farewell to Óscar Ugarteche
El CLACSO Working Group on Geopolitics, Regional Integration and the World System expresses its deep sorrow for the passing of Óscar Ugarteche Galarza, Peruvian economist, researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, coordinator of the Economic Observatory of Latin America- OBELA- and founding member of our Working Group.
His passing represents a great loss for critical thought. Óscar was one of the Latin American intellectuals who most profoundly studied the relationships between external debt, the international financial system, economic sovereignty, and regional integration. His extensive academic career was accompanied by an uncommon dedication to creating projects, bringing together researchers, opening new fields of debate, and transforming critical reflection into concrete institutional proposals.
He made significant efforts to construct a theoretical and conceptual analysis of regional integration. He argued that Latin American integration could not be reduced to trade between countries or the expansion of markets. It should be understood as a political, economic, and financial construct aimed at expanding the region's autonomy, reducing its external vulnerability, and strengthening the capacity of states to define their own sovereign policies.
From that perspective, he dedicated a substantial part of his work to envisioning a new regional financial architecture. He advocated for the creation of regional instruments to finance development, address liquidity crises, reduce dependence on international financial institutions, and utilize a greater proportion of Latin American savings for the benefit of the region itself.
Within this framework, he made significant contributions to the debates and technical formulations surrounding the Bank of the South. He understood that an institution of this nature should differentiate itself from traditional financial organizations, contribute to reducing asymmetries between countries, and support development projects and regional integration. His thinking also included the need for monetary stabilization mechanisms, regional payment systems, and greater levels of economic coordination.
He was not merely a scholar of these processes. He was a builder of intellectual and institutional initiatives, willing to promote projects and bridge the gap between academic research and the political challenges of Latin America. He was a co-founder of MHOL, the Lima Homosexual Movement, one of the oldest LGBT organizations in Latin America.
Oscar was a brilliant and open-minded colleague. His ability to anticipate global economic trends, his entrepreneurial spirit, and his commitment to regional integration and sovereignty defined his career.
The Working Group on Geopolitics, Regional Integration and the World System extends its deepest condolences to its colleague Fidel Aroche, his family, friends, colleagues, students and the entire academic community of UNAM and the Economic Observatory of Latin America.
July 13, 2026
CLACSO Working Group on Geopolitics, Regional Integration and the World System
This text expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Groups and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.
