Brazil has been labeled an anchor country, a leading area, and a regional power. Yet, even before the crisis triggered by Operation 'Car Wash' began, several scholars questioned Brazil's driving role in regional integration, pointing to political challenges and economic weaknesses that hindered closer ties among South American countries.

📌 New Concept: Geoeconomic Nodality

Geoeconomic nodality is introduced to assess Brazil's impact on South America and to clarify structural sources of economic fragmentation. A geoeconomic node is defined as the core of economic networks within a geographically delimited system: the flows of the system's units concentrate on the node, enabling it to transmit development impulses and reflecting ideas behind anchor countries, leading areas, and regional powers.

📌 How the Concept Is Applied to Brazil

The analysis highlights how geographical conditions interact with public policies to shape Brazil's ability to serve as a regional economic hub. The focus is on structural geography and policy dynamics that limit integration rather than on optimistic leadership visions alone.

📌 Key Findings

• Geographic constraints that reduce Brazil's geoeconomic nodality:
• Long distances across the continent
• Significant physical barriers
• Maritime orientation of core population and economic zones
• Poor state of transcontinental infrastructure
• Policy and macroeconomic factors that exacerbate fragmentation:
• Resource nationalism
• Volatile public policies
• Fluctuating exchange rates

📌 Why It Matters

These interacting geographic and policy factors form a structural mix that undermines Brazil's nodality and makes prospects for overcoming integration obstacles appear dim. The findings challenge optimistic narratives of Brazil as the region's economic driver and help explain persistent economic fragmentation in South America.