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| 1983–84 |
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| Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Panama worked out a 21-point peace plan for Central America known as Contadora. The plan was supported by most nations of Latin America (including Nicaragua), the European Common Market, and Japan, but it was blocked by the U.S. | 1 |
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| 1984, June 21–22 |
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| At the Conference of Foreign and Finance Ministers of Latin America in Cartagena, Colombia, the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico released a joint statement condemning First World protectionism and rising interest rates. The conference adopted the Declaration of Quito, which proclaimed that negotiations over debt payments must consider the social and developmental aims of the debtor nations, and that creditor nations should accept some responsibility for Third World debt. | 2 |
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| 1986, April 25 |
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| Twenty-two nations met in Rio de Janeiro to sign an agreement to create the Inter-American Drug Control Committee to set out strategies for controlling drug trafficking. | 3 |
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| 1987, Aug |
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| In the aftermath of the failure of Contadora, the presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica met in Guatemala City to sign a set of peace agreements proposed by Costa Rican president Oscar Arias. The Arias Peace Plan called for an end to outside assistance to insurgent forces, democratic reforms, the release of political prisoners, and fair elections. The U.S. initially opposed the treaty but in the end reluctantly endorsed it. Arias won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. | 4 |
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| 1991, March 26 |
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| Representatives of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay met in Asunción to create the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur). This free trade agreement was due to come into effect by Jan. 1, 1995. | 5 |
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| 1994, Jan. 1 |
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| The North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, covering a population of more than 360 million people and making it one of the world's two largest free trade zones. | 6 |
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| Dec. 9–11 |
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| Thirty-four leaders from North and South America, with only Cuba absent, held a conference and decided to establish a full free trade zone by the year 2005. | 7 |
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| Dec. 17 |
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| Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay signed a pact creating Mercosur. | 8 |
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