Alternative Actors in Latam (IV): India

India is strengthening relations with Latin America by closing the gap with competitors such as China, Japan and Korea. It should also deepen its relationship with regional organisations and integration processes, requesting observer status. Its presence is expanding with the opening of new embassies in the Dominican Republic and Paraguay. Both countries had already established missions in New Delhi in 2006.

On 1 January, Paraguay opened its embassy in Santo Domingo, until now attached to the one in Havana. By completing the diplomatic infrastructure, the aim is to create new areas of cooperation in the bilateral relationship and to turn the Dominican Republic into a logistical centre to connect with Central America.

It is also finalising details to establish an independent headquarters in Asunción. Until now, the legation in Buenos Aires was in charge of affairs with Paraguay. The Paraguayan legation in the subcontinent was opened in 2005. Trade has increased in the last five years to $376 million. India imports mainly soybean oil from Paraguay. It exports organic chemicals, automobile parts, medicines, etc. Bharat Biotech donated Covid-19 vaccine to Paraguay at the height of the pandemic.

"India opens embassies in Paraguay and Dominican Republic. Two key countries in the #EEUUChina dispute. Paraguay enclave of Taiwan. Dominican Republic shares island with Haiti, which recognises Taiwan. India-China tensions grow. India-US affinity also", Professor Bernabé Malacalza pointed out on social media. India joins the Quad along with the US, Australia and Japan, an informal group of large democracies occupied with China.

The historical eavesdropper. Although overshadowed by China's prominence, India has greater socio-cultural references in the region than Beijing. One relates to its diaspora: more than 1M descendants of Indian migrants currently live in the Caribbean (Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago). Yet most of the subcontinent's 1350M inhabitants are unaware of the differences between the Caribbean countries, which are often referred to by the generic term West Indies, a reference to British colonisation.

 Another factor of interest relates India and Brazil, which share to some extent the Portuguese legacy. Lisbon held rights to several coastal possessions - Goa, Daman, Diu - and inland enclaves from the time of Vasco da Gama until Indian independence in 1947. Both countries have been historic standard-bearers of south-south cooperation. They are also members of the Trilateral Forum IBSA (2003) and the BRICS (from 2006).

Good image. Although Hindu nationalism rules under Narendra Modi, India is a democracy, unlike China. Beyond this, Washington and New Delhi's fear of Beijing's expansionism makes them allies in Latin America, a region where - it is true - friendship with the US is not exactly an advantage.

However, it is worth looking at the economic aspects of the Asian giants' presence in Latin America. Chinese exports - which are much larger - are more diversified. The negative perception of Beijing as a destroyer of the industrial fabric and local jobs is a further incentive for India to increase its presence in the region. The volume of trade is still modest. Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Chile are the most important partners.

Both buy commodities. Demand for the star product, soya, will increase thanks to its versatility as food, feed and source of biofuels. Latin America is key for both. The difference: India has a more energy profile; China, mining. The former relies on private investment, the latter on long-term purchase agreements with its state-owned companies.

 Investment and lending - again, much less than China's - are better considered. New Delhi has generally been acting more transparently and as a partner accustomed to Latin American practices.

Socially valued products. India's exports to Latin America are based on its status as the "big pharmacy of the planet". India is the world's largest supplier of generic medicines. It supplies more than 60% of the world's demand for vaccines. For some time now, there have been warnings about the pressure on the industry and the consequent damage to access to medicines in developing countries.

In Colombia, of the 741,000 new motorbikes registered last year, 118,381 were from the Indian Bajaj brand, second only to Japan's Yamaha.

The Tata Group, the largest holding company, employs more than 20,000 people in Latin America. The technology company Tata Consultancy Services belongs to the group. With a strong presence in Chile, it recently launched the first Threat Management Centre for IT security in Latin America in Querétaro, Mexico. They work with universities to solve the challenge of talent availability.

The Bollywood phenomenon. The industry has more than 100 years of history. The term Bollywood was coined in the 1970s when its cinema overtook American cinema. In addition to the Hindi films shot in Mumbai, there are many others made in other parts and languages of the country: Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam.

Released in 2017, "Tangled: The Confusion" was the first Bollywood-style film made in Latin America (Costa Rica). Last 10th VIX premiered it on its multiplatform totally free and without subscription.

Zee Mundo brings the glamour of India to Latam since 2017. It is an international subscription TV channel of Indian origin that broadcasts Bollywood films in HD dubbed into Spanish 24 hours a day.

The similarities between Latin and Indian culture explain the success of Bollywood in Latam: the value of family, union, joint effort and vicissitudes. Colour, joy and dance.

A maharaja in La Guaira. The interests of the richest man in Asia, Mukesh Ambani, strongman of the Indian mega-conglomerate Reliance Industries, reach as far as Venezuela.

Until the end of 2020, in the face of its inability to refine its own oil - ironic and tragic in equal parts - PDVSA depended on so-called diesel swaps: refined fuel in exchange for towing Venezuelan crude, triangulating with Reliance, as well as Spain's Repsol and Italy's Eni. That is, until Trump redoubled his pressure on these operations.

  Since then, Reliance has sought to summarise the swaps by arguing that they will alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the country. Biden's man during his time as a senator, Ankit Desai, is leading the lobbying.

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