More than 45 countries have signed up to be a part of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank but Brazil is the only Latin American country that has committed to the bank.

Australia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Italy, and South Korea are among the nations that have said they will join the AIIB, which has received the blessing of International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde. The new bank plans to invest $100 billion in infrastructure projects in Asian countries. China also has its "One Belt, One Road" strategy, an initiative to promote economic and cultural ties with countries involved.

Kevin Gallagher, an associate professor at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and co-director of the Global Economic Governance Initiative, said that Latin American nations in many ways have their own version of AIIB.