This article ilustrates the Bank of the South initiative processess. Suspensions and delays may be justified by some important differences that exist among the countries involved in the Bank’s founding process and which constitute key factors in this sense. However, the difficulties encountered in the Bank of the South’s process of inception cannot be explained merely by these deficiencies. In fact, the key areas of potential conflict have to do without a doubt with the Bank’s role, the composition of the capital stock, and the decision-making system.

Portuguese version at: www.igtn.org/page/816