Integration Clauses in the Constitutions of South American Countries: 200 Years After the “Letter from Jamaica”

The purpose of this article is to address the supranational integration process in South America from the perspective of the internationalization of constitutional law. To do so, the first part proposes a basic classification to understand the supranational integration clauses, what they are and what purpose they serve. The second part applies the categories proposed and provides an analytic compilation of the (twelve) constitutions currently in force in South America. Based on an analysis of the explicit text in these constitutions, it identifies both their common features and the discrepancies, in order to proceed to pose questions that may contribute to the economic, political and social integration of the region.