Circular economy policy resilience and robustness in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has made significant progress in advancing the Circular Economy (CE) agenda at national levels. Since 2019, eleven LAC countries have proposed National Circular Economy Strategies (NCES) and CE Roadmaps. National Strategies and roadmaps set priorities and propose governance structures and instruments for advancing the CE transition. However, the durable impact of CE policies over time is uncertain due to short-term governance cycles, as the region is marked by challenges in political stability and government changes. While societal transformation towards a CE is expected to take decades, the imbalance between governmental changes and CE policy priority setting emphasizes the need for systems that enhance long-term CE policy resilience and robustness in LAC. This paper identifies factors for enhancing the resilience and robustness of long-term CE policies in the region by applying transition management principles and network governance models. A focus group was developed with CE official representatives involved in the CE policy development in 8 LAC countries—Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay—and identified in a co-creating process the main challenges and factors to ensure durable impact of CE policies across government transitions in the region. The focus group outcomes were linked to the Worldwide Governance Indicators to assess the political stability of the analyzed countries, providing insights into the CE policy resilience and robustness factors of LAC countries. The outcomes echo practices recommended by transition theory and network governance models, and the adoption of legal backup by higher order laws supporting as instruments for the resilience and robustness of long-term CE policy making. • Latin American political landscape is historically influenced by a hierarchical culture. • Political instability poses a major challenge to CE policy resilience and robustness. • A key factor is fostering network governance by collaboration among key actors. • Long-term transition management is crucial for CE policy resilience and robustness.