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Research released this Wednesday (22) by the German foundation Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung with 12 thousand interviewees in ten Latin American countries shows that China was the only power to gain prestige in the region since 2022, with 36.1% of Latin Americans pointing to the Asian country as a reference in development, against 31.5% of the United States, who lost 13 percentage points in the same period.
The Latin America is changing its reference. A survey published this Wednesday with 12 thousand interviewees in ten countries in the region reveals that China was the only one among seven evaluated powers to increase its prestige in the last four years. While United States, Spain, Germany, France, United Kingdom, and Russia recorded significant declines in the perception of Latin Americans, Beijing advanced 6 percentage points and consolidated itself as the main reference in development for 36.1% of the interviewees, surpassing the Americans, who remained at 31.5%.
Researcher Monica Hirst, who collaborated in the preparation of the study, summarized the change in a direct statement to Folha de S.Paulo: “Latin America is looking more positively at Asia than at the West.” The survey was published by the German foundation Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, by the magazine Nueva Sociedad, and by the group Diálogo e Paz, with methodological implementation by the Chilean consultancy Latinobarómetro. The data was collected between October and November of last year, with a margin of error of three percentage points, and interviewed people with eight or more years of schooling in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
How China Surpassed the United States as a Reference in Development
According to information released by the portal Brasil247, the most significant data from the survey is in the field of development. When asked which country they consider a reference in this area, 36.1% of interviewees pointed to China, against 31.5% of the United States. The Chinese advance was 7 percentage points compared to 2022, while the Americans retreated 13 points in the same period, an inversion that reflects both the growth of positive perception about Beijing and the accelerated wear of Washington’s image in the region.
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The research indicates that China is seen as a leader especially in the areas of education, science, technology, and artificial intelligence. The United States is still recognized for its economic and military weight, but faces higher levels of distrust and negative evaluations regarding its political leadership. Hirst highlighted a central point of the Chinese image in Latin America: the Asian country is not perceived as a threat or a factor of tension, and its technological capacity is associated with civilian use, not military.
What explains the wear and tear of the United States and Europe in the region
The decline in prestige of Western powers did not happen by chance. The interviews were conducted in an international context of wars, geopolitical tensions, and weakening of multilateral norms, factors that directly affect the perception of countries that are part of NATO and have supported Ukraine militarily since the Russian invasion in 2022. Washington is also the main ally of Israel, whose actions following the Hamas attack in October 2023 triggered a severe humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The impact of Donald Trump on the image of the United States appears strikingly in the data. The American president was cited as the leadership that generates the most distrust among Latin Americans, with 25.3% of mentions, far ahead of Vladimir Putin, with 12.3%, and Nicolás Maduro, with 4.9%. Researcher Monica Hirst was direct in assessing the effect: Trump had a “devastating impact in reputational terms” for Americans in Latin America.
The perception of a more hostile and less regulated world
In addition to measuring the reputation of powers, the survey captured the climate of apprehension that permeates Latin America. Uncertainty was the predominant feeling, cited by 40% of respondents, and negative perceptions about the global situation far outweighed positive ones, with 32% against 22%. When asked about the direction of the world, 78% said they disagreed that it is on the right track.
The data on conflict and international regulation are equally revealing. 70% of respondents agree that “An era of wars and conflicts has begun in the world”, and 53% claim that international laws and norms are no longer relevant. The picture that emerges is of a region that sees the international system as harsher, less predictable, and increasingly driven by force rather than cooperation. This scenario of widespread distrust helps explain why China, which is not directly involved in the main current conflicts, is gaining ground in regional perception.
What the numbers say about democracy and soft power
The United States recorded, alongside Venezuela, the largest decline in the democratic evaluation category, with a loss of 1.5 percentage points. On a scale of 1 to 10, Americans received a score of 6.2, while Venezuela scored 2.5. China scored 4.4 and showed a growth of 0.4 percentage points, indicating a relative improvement in its image even in a field that is traditionally unfavorable to it.
Europe continues to be seen as a reference in human rights, humanitarian assistance, and environmental protection. However, the so-called European soft power has lost strength, as have perceptions of its strategic autonomy and relevance as a model of development and integration. Cooperation between Latin America and Europe is no longer perceived as necessarily strategic or concrete, which explains why, even while preserving positive attributes, Europeans have also lost reputation in the regional imagination.
What the research reveals about the future of alliances in Latin America
The main message of the survey is that Latin America is reassessing its international references. Amid the legitimacy crisis of the West, Asia is gaining ground as a hub of technological stability, productive capacity, and development horizon. The rise of China reflects not only an improved image but a deeper change in how Latin Americans evaluate power, progress, and global influence.
The wear of the United States and Europe suggests that the Atlantic axis no longer exerts the same political, economic, and symbolic allure over the region. The scenario points to a reconfiguration of Latin American public opinion regarding the competition for influence in the international system, with practical consequences for the alliance, trade, and cooperation policies that regional governments will adopt in the coming years.
Do you think that Latin America is right to look more towards China as a reference, or is the wear of the United States temporary and the relationship with the West going to recover? Leave your opinion in the comments, we want to know how you see this change in perception in the region.
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