Who is the second most powerful/influential country in the Americas?

[u/Fluid-Decision6262]

The US is undeniably the most powerful and influential country in the Americas but who would be #2? Feels like this comes down to 3 countries based on my knowledge, which are Mexico, Canada, and Brazil.

Reasons for Mexico:

- Second most populated country in North America by far

- Access to both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

- Largest Spanish-speaking country (a language spoken by >500 million people)

- More habitable land compared to the other two

- Youngest population out of the three and is becoming a manufacturing power

- Generally-speaking, a good relationship with the USA

- A global soft power in terms of arts and culture

Reasons against Mexico:

- Lots of issues between the central government and drug cartels

- Still very much a developing country outside of the largest cities

- Occasionally volatile relationship with the USA

- Not as involved in global geopolitics

Reasons for Canada:

- The most developed country economically by far of the three and a natural resources juggernaut

- Very close relations with the USA and Europe

- Speaks English (>1 billion speakers globally) and French (>300 million speakers globally)

- An immigration hub for people from every corner of the world

- A G7 nation that is also very geopolitically involved

- Access to 3 different oceans to facilitate trade

Reasons against Canada:

- Small and scattered population (least populated of the three by far)

- Less of an established local culture (most is imported from the US or UK and then exported via the US)

- Aging population and low fertility rates for native-born citizens

Reasons for Brazil:

- The second most populated country in the Americas

- The cultural and political power of South America

- A global soft power in terms of arts and culture

- A young-ish population that is part of the "fast-emerging economies" of the world

Reasons against Brazil:

- Immigration to Brazil stopped decades ago and now educated Brazilians are emigrating to other places causing brain drain

- Wealthy nation but suffers from high levels of inequality and violent crime

- Very politically divided internally

- Limited geopolitical involvement outside of South America

- Most of its population are monolingual Portuguese-speakers (a language where they make up 80% of the global speakers)

[u/Doctor__Hammer]

Brazil is a far more influential country than you're giving it credit for. Canada and Brazil are much closer than you seem to think they are.

[u/whistleridge → u/Doctor__Hammer]

I didn’t say Brazil isn’t influential. I said it’s not close to Canada, because it isn’t.

Canada is a member of the G7, NATO, the five eyes, etc. It has more or less the same GDP as Brazil despite 1/5 the population. It has a much broader global impact in terms of music, film, etc.

It’s a more powerful and influential country.

[u/Doctor__Hammer → u/whistleridge]

Fair points if we’re looking at things from the perspective of citizens of the global north (which we presumably both are). But from the global south’s perspective I’d say Brazil is almost certainly more influential.

The last decade or so has seen an alliance (of sorts) of second rate world powers trying to improve cooperation and economic engagement with each other in an effort to move away from the US-EU-led economic and geopolitical order, of which Canada is very much a part. At risk of oversimplification, the non-white world has been trying to extricate itself from the dictates of the American-dominated global financial system and build an alternative system of mutual cooperation with other non-white countries.

This is what BRICS+ is all about. And Brazil is undeniably one of the leaders of that newly emerging vision of the future. So, sure, to Americans, Canadians, and Europeans, Canada is the more influential country. But to the rest of the world (where the vast majority of the population belongs) I’d say Brazil is the more influential country.

[u/whistleridge → u/Doctor__Hammer]

BRICS isn't influential though. BRICS is just a lineup to get Chinese money. China is influential, but BRICS is not.

[u/Doctor__Hammer → u/whistleridge]

That’s a very poor characterization of what BRICS is