According to a report by consultancy Brand Finance for 2022, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia are the Latin American countries in the top 50 with the highest soft power in the world.
The annual study, called the Global Soft Power Index, is based on the perceptions of more than 100,000 people in 120 countries around the world regarding soft power.
The surveys assess nations’ presence, prestige, and influence on the world stage in seven categories: Economy and Trade, Governance, International Relations, Culture and Heritage, Media and Communications, Education and Science, and People and Values.
In addition, this year’s report also evaluated how individual countries are dealing with the pandemic.
In this context, Brazil ranked 28th, according to the report, a significant increase from 35th place last year.
Argentina moved up from 41st to 38th, while Mexico is in 42nd place, two places closer to the top than last year; Colombia managed to enter the top 50 most influential countries this year, reaching 48th place, up from 52nd in 2021.
It is worth noting that, according to the consultancy, soft power has to do with a nation’s ability to influence the preferences and behavior of different actors on the international stage (states, companies, communities, publics, etc.) through attraction or persuasion (culture, economy, foreign policy, quality of life, etc.), rather than coercion or the use of military force.
How did the other countries in the region fare in the global rankings?
Panama ranks 54th this year (previously 60th). Chile ranks 55th, unchanged from last year.
The Dominican Republic improved more than ten places from 73rd in 2021 to 61st, Uruguay fell from 56th to 66th, Costa Rica improved one place to 67th, Paraguay fell from 64th to 80th this year, and Peru from 59th to 82nd.
According to the report, perceptions of Venezuela’s ability to influence appear to be improving. It is now ahead of Bolivia, which dropped from 85th to 92nd.
Ecuador also dropped from 91st to 98th place. Guatemala and Honduras are near the bottom of the rankings, the former at 111th (from 101st) and the latter at 118th (from 102nd last year).
THE WORLD’S LEADING SOFT POWERS
Globally, the ranking is topped by the United States, which was rated as the country with the most recognition or memory, the most influence, the most cross-border media, leadership in education and science, the best international relations, and the greatest strength in culture and heritage.
The United Kingdom ranked second, followed immediately by Germany, China, and Japan.
All four countries scored high in awareness, influence, reputation, business, and investment.
On the other hand, it should be noted that all five of the above countries scored lowest in the people and values category.
BRAZIL, THE TOP PERFORMER IN THE LATAM RANKINGS
Brazil received 43.4 points out of 100, 5.3 points higher than in the 2021 measurement, making it the best-ranked country in Latin America.
Globally, Brazil ranks ninth in this regard, as it continues to be perceived as a “leader in sports,” “influential in arts and entertainment,” and with a wide range of “globally popular foods.”
However, this year, the country’s brand recognition earned it the highest overall score. In this category, the country ranks 12th globally, alongside Australia and India.
According to Brand Finance, it could have risen even further if other countries had not done so more quickly, as the public perceived better management of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Overall, Latin American countries performed better than Brazil on this criterion. Brand Finance notes that “economic imbalances” also affect the brand.
In terms of impact, the country ranks 19th, ahead of the Netherlands.
Regarding reputation, Brazil does not perform as well as in the other dimensions, ranking 30th alongside Poland and Qatar, despite being the best-positioned Latin American country in this criterion.
In the economy and trade pillar, Brazil ranks 29th with a score of 4, on par with Ireland, South Africa, and Thailand.
“Cultural and bureaucratic factors make Latin American countries complex and difficult compared to other jurisdictions, and Latin American countries’ brands suffer as a result,” the report states.
The governance pillar is the second-worst rating for Brazil. Panama and the Dominican Republic are ahead of Brazil in this area.
The indices measuring corruption show that countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia tend to be more corrupt, and Brazil needs to improve significantly in this area.
NEWCOMER COLOMBIA
According to the report, Colombia has achieved “remarkable growth” over the past year and has risen four places, now ranking fourth among the world’s 50 most influential countries.
The country is still considered a leader in its food products, which respondents praised. In addition, Colombia’s influence in the world is growing as it is seen as helping other countries.
Global perceptions of Colombia’s ethical standards, security, human rights laws and corruption have improved compared to last year.
The country’s handling of the pandemic also contributed to its good score compared to the previous year. “Colombia has effectively contained the spread of the virus, and the economy has recovered rapidly,” Brand Finance said.
And in terms of influence and awareness, the country improved its rating and is now the fourth most influential and fifth most well-known nation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
MEXICO AND ARGENTINA
Argentina, ranked 38th in the world this year, and Mexico, ranked 42nd, have the same main strengths and “most urgent” weaknesses to address.
The countries’ familiarity or name recognition and reputation make them more robust at the global and regional levels. At the same time, governance and the state of international relations are the evaluation criteria on which they score lowest.
Of all the Latin American countries included in the assessment, Mexico has the second highest recall score among respondents worldwide, after Brazil.
CHILE WITH CHALLENGES
Chile’s soft power ranking and the score remained unchanged this year.
However, Brand Finance and Constanza Cea, managing director of Imagen de Chile, assessed the country’s challenges to grow, believing that it still needs to strengthen the spread of its brand globally.
According to the report, Chile is already known abroad for its landscapes and geography but needs to do more to communicate its potential, such as its contribution to environmental protection, its attractiveness for investment in renewable energy, its recent unicorns, its consolidated companies, and its different quality of life in the region.
Management agrees with the message, pointing out that this is a real challenge, which is why it is “trying to strike a balance in communication to promote both our incredible nature and our talented people and success stories,” Constanza Cea said in the report.
With information from Bloomberginlinea