RURAL POLICIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND TERRITORIAL PROJECTS OF CULTURAL IDENTITY

This article illustrates recent transformations in European rural policies as a preamble to the analysis of the policies that accompany these changes, and offers a reflection on the lessons from these experiences for Latin America. However, from the 1980s onwards, the sectoral focus of European Union agricultural policies was insufficient. A transformation process was started which brought about a new rural development policy with a territorial focus as a 'second pillar' of the agricultural policies. This new focus, called the innovative Leader initiative, has contributed to generating a positive endogenous dynamic in rural zones and has stimulated the main interest outside Europe, in international organization as well as in some developing countries. The article examines European agrarian policies (PAC) and their evolution, in particular the Leader initiative. It deals some case studies in which identity has played an important role. Lastly, it takes into account some reflections on the usefulness of the European experiences in Latin America.